Arne Slot has clarified why Dominik Szoboszlai will miss Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Manchester United.
The Reds are set to conclude their tour of the United States with a clash against old rivals Man United in South Carolina.
This match will be Slot’s first experience of English football’s biggest rivalry, though he will face a familiar opponent.
The former Feyenoord boss will renew his rivalry with Erik ten Hag, whom he has previously faced during Ten Hag’s time at Ajax.
As Slot’s squad begins to take shape following a long international summer, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of his first-choice XI for the season opener against Ipswich on August 17.
Liverpool will still be missing Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Alisson Becker, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez, but they are expected to return to training next week when the Reds resume at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby.
Ahead of his first encounter with United, Alexis Mac Allister has returned to training after winning the Copa America with Argentina.
However, he won’t feature in South Carolina, which is unsurprising given that Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, and Ryan Gravenberch all missed their initial friendlies after returning to training.
As the new season approaches, with only two weeks remaining before the Reds head out on the road, Slot will be keen to maximize the playing time for those he intends to start at Ipswich.
Konate returns to the side, aiming to reclaim his spot in the heart of defence after losing it to Jarell Quansah towards the end of last season.
He replaces Sepp van den Berg for this match as Slot evaluates his strongest options.
Defensive midfielder Wataru Endo misses out on a starting role again, with his future becoming increasingly uncertain as the summer progresses.
Curtis Jones is likely to play as the number six, while Dominik Szoboszlai is absent due to fatigue, with Ryan Gravenberch stepping in.
Slot told Liverpoolfc.com at Williams-Brice Stadium: “I think it’s our 13th day of the tour.
“Dominik joined every session and every game, and we played the last one two days ago.
“I think it’s a bit of fatigue and we don’t want to take any risks because we fly back to Liverpool tonight and on Tuesday all the other players arrive as well, so we want to start off then with all the players available and we didn’t want to take any risk with him today.”
Elsewhere, Harvey Elliott will have another opportunity to secure his place in the side following a strong performance against the Gunners.
Jota will lead the attack once more, hoping to regain his scoring touch after missing several chances in midweek.
Liverpool: Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Quansah, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones, Elliott; Salah, Jota, Carvalho
Subs: Jaros, Endo, Bajcetic, Chambers, Phillips, Doak, Van den Berg, Morton, Blair, Stephenson, Nyoni.
Manchester United: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Amass, Lindelof, Evans, Casemiro, Collyer, Mount, Amad, Sancho, Rashford
Read more: Confirmed Liverpool line-up v Manchester United
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