Liverpool kick-off their pre-season tour of Asia today with a clash against north west rivals Manchester United at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, as the Reds look to get off to a winning start ahead of the new Premier League season.
And following the announcements of the team lineups, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has opted to field a weakened side for the contest, in which a number of youngsters are involved and have been handed starts, including Isaac Mabaya and Luke Chambers.
Here is all you need to know about Mabaya and Chambers as they are handed their Liverpool debuts, along with all the other names who have appeared on the team sheet for the first time.
Who is Isaac Mabaya?
Erik ten Hag has arguably named his strongest available side to start against Liverpool yet Klopp is more than happy to use the fixture as an opportunity to blood some of his youth players, with Isaac Mabaya starting in defence for the Reds.
Mabaya, born on September 22, 2004, has been a product of the Liverpool Academy since the age of six, and is set to start his first game under Jurgen Klopp at just 17 years old. Mabaya is traditionally a midfielder, but can also play at full-back, which explains his switch of position for this game.
Born in Preston, Mabaya signed his first professional contract with the Reds in September 2021 after breaking into the Under-18s side when he was an Under-16s player that previous season. The clash with United marks Mabaya's first appearance for the senior side.
Will Liverpool's youthful side be able to cope against Man Utd's first team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Who is Luke Chambers?
Also starting in defence is young left back Luke Chambers, who is set to come up against United winger Jadon Sancho, making his first appearance for the senior side having signed his first professional contract last summer.
The 18-year-old is set to stand in for Andy Robertson but has been credited with making an excellent impression both going forward as well as defensively, just like the Scotsman, and has been a regular in the Under-18s side for the past two seasons.
Chambers joined Liverpool’s Academy when he was just six-years-old, while he made his U18s debut in 2020-21. Due to injuries in defence last season, Chambers featured at centre-half on numerous occasions and also became the registered penalty taker, netting nine goals during the campaign.
Others
Also featuring on the bench in Klopp’s first team squad today from the Academy are Fabian Mrozek, Stefan Bajcetic, Bobby Clark, Leighton Clarkson, James Norris, Thomas Hill and Melkamu Frauendorf, with the German eager to bring through the club’s youngsters.
Fellow youngsters Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg are also on the bench, having made their breakthrough into the first team in recent campaigns, while Tyler Morton, Harvey Elliott and new signing Fabio Carvalho have been named in the starting lineup.
Liverpool lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Mabaya, Phillips, Gomez, Chambers; Henderson, Morton, Carvalho; Elliott, Firmino, Diaz.
Subs: Adrian, Mrozek, Davies, Fabinho, Van Dijk, Konate, Thiago, Milner, Keita, Salah, Oxladde-Chamberlain, Jones, Tsimikas, Robertson, Nunez, Matip, Bajcetic, Williams, Clark, Clarkson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Den Berg, Norris, Hill, Frauendorf
