Liverpool will take on their fourth German team in pre-season as they host Darmstadt at Deepdale. Bayern defeated Liverpool 6-3 a week ago. The visitors have yet to score in any of their four exhibition games.
Preview (Liverpool vs Darmstadt 98)
When the two continental juggernauts met in Singapore on August 2, with Fabinho no longer serving as the one-man midfield screen, a revamped Liverpool team conceded no fewer than four goals to Bayern, even if Thomas Tuchel’s defense was far from impenetrable. However, the efforts of Luis Diaz, Virgil van Dijk, and Cody Gakpo were in vain. Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Josip Stanisic, and left-back Frans Kratzig, 20, helped Bayern win. After 90 minutes, he scored the game’s seventh and deciding goal.
As the Reds prepare for another 90 minutes of friendly play before the real action starts, Klopp may be glad that he isn’t facing teams from his native country every week. From holding the Foxes at bay to surrendering at will against German outfits after spending six years in the dreary Bundesliga 2, having earned automatic promotion to the Bundesliga with a second-place result in the previous campaign. based on goal differential, FC Heidenheim. Since game week 12, Darmstadt has solidified its position atop the standings. Up until the last day, they stayed seated on their throne. The Lilies also let Greuther Furth score four goals, much like Liverpool did in July.
Team News
When Alexis Mac Allister was ejected at halftime in the defeat to Bayern, a few lips dropped. The Argentine midfielder was simply suffering from a bruise, according to Klopp. In a competitive match, he could have managed to endure the discomfort. Considering Mac Allister’s previous performance, it is hardly a surprise that no risks were taken. The summer acquisition should be ready to go on Monday. The same cannot be said for Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara, who underwent groin surgery. With just one more exhibition game left on the schedule, Klopp ought to start most of his regular starting. This would imply that recalls for Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Ibrahima Konate are likely.
Emir Karic, Jannik Muller, and Frank Ronstadt, a defensive trio, are all occupying spaces in the hospital, leaving Darmstadt grappling with an onerous list of absentees ahead of the new season. The attacking tandem of Aaron Seydel and Oscar Vilhemsson is also hampered by physical issues. It might free up a spot for recent acquisition Fraser Hornby, who joined from Reims last summer. Hornby, a former academy player for Northampton Town and Everton, will likely start this week at the tip of a 3-4-2-1 formation from the Lilies.
Even the most fervent Darmstadt supporters will undoubtedly accept their team’s fate of a scoreless preseason prior to their return to the Bundesliga, as a full-strength Liverpool team will prove too powerful at Deepdale. Although Klopp’s team has had trouble packing up shop during the summer and is still without a true number six, a routine victory should be in store for the Reds to finish off an overall successful summer.
Liverpool 3 – 0 Darmstadt 98
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