Anfield will play host to an unusual pre-season spectacle on Monday as Liverpool welcome Spanish side Athletic for back-to-back friendly matches in what promises to be a fascinating evening of football on Merseyside.
The rare double-header will see two consecutive matches played between the sides, kicking off at 18:00 CEST and 21:00 CEST respectively, offering both clubs a valuable opportunity to rotate their squads, experiment with tactics, and fine-tune preparations ahead of the upcoming campaign.
With the Premier League and La Liga seasons fast approaching, both Arne Slot's Liverpool and Ernesto Valverde's Athletic are expected to use the occasion to assess fitness levels and finalise key decisions before competitive football resumes.
Though official meetings between these two historic clubs have been few and far between, they carry a certain weight.
Their most notable encounter came in the 1968/69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, when Athletic famously progressed past Liverpool at Anfield—albeit only after a coin toss, following a tied aggregate score and no away goals rule in place at the time.
Monday's double friendly offers fans a rare glimpse into pre-season preparations from both sides and the chance to witness top-level football in a more experimental and open setting.
Liverpool starting XI: Woodman (GK); Jones, Stephenson, Tsimikas, Robertson; Mac Allister, Elliott, Nyoni; Doak, Nunez, Ngumoha
Athletic Club starting XI: Padilla (GK); Gorosabel, Prados, De Luis, Lekue; Rego, Vesga; Nico Serrano, Gomez, Berenguer; Guruzeta.