Liverpool start the 2025/26 campaign at Deepdale as they face Preston North End at 15:00. You can watch live on ITV and LFCTV.

Oh His Name Is Diogo

Liverpool sold the rights to this game long before the tragic deaths of Diogo Jota and André Silva. A minute’s silence will be observed alongside televised tributes, with both sets of players wearing black armbands. You’ll Never Walk Alone will be played before kick-off, whilst Preston North End captain Ben Whiteman will lay a wreath in front of the away fans, where nearly 5,700 Reds will stand on the Bill Shankly Kop.

Preston North End are offering a free 16-page matchday programme, dedicated to Diogo and André, to all supporters with a match ticket on the day. Multiple members of staff will be around the ground handing out the programmes.

New Faces

Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Jeremy Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Armin Pecsi, and former Preston goalkeeper Freddie Woodman will all be in contention to make their Liverpool debut.

All eyes will be on club record signing Florian Wirtz. Dubbed ‘the wonderkid’, he bagged 16 goals and 15 assists in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen last season. It looks like he will be wearing the number 59 shirt during pre-season, whilst Milos Kerkez will wear the number 57.

Jeremy Frimpong will be eager to link up with international team-mates Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Cody Gakpo. He revealed his dad and brother are huge Liverpool fans; therefore, it’ll undoubtedly be a special moment for him and his family.

Youngsters to keep an eye on!

With pre-season games against Yokohama F. Marinos and A.C. Milan in Japan on the horizon, this will be a chance for young players to book their trip on the tour.

Trey Nyoni featured five times for Liverpool in midfield last season and picked up an assist in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley. The 18-year-old was heavily involved in last year’s pre-season with a goal against Sevilla at Anfield. This year will be his opportunity to put himself in the shop window for a loan move or more first-team minutes this campaign.

Rio Ngumoha made his debut in that FA Cup match and played 72 minutes before being subbed off. At just 16 years old, the winger caused Accrington lots of problems with his speed and close control. Liverpool thought extremely hard to pry the talent away from Chelsea with the promise of first-team opportunities. He’ll be looking to build on what he did last season by impressing in pre-season.

Central defender Amara Nallo has featured recently on the Liverpool Instagram and will be looking for more opportunities this season. He captained the U18s during the UEFA Youth League last season and featured regularly for the U21s. Unfortunately, he was sent off on his first-team debut against PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League. The 18-year-old will be looking to put this behind him, and with the recent departure of Jarell Quansah, there will be more opportunities for minutes this pre-season.

The Opposition Preston North End

The hosts finished 10th in the Championship last season; the push for play-offs fell away in spectacular fashion as they failed to win any of the last eight games of the season.

Manager Paul Heckingbottom achieved promotion to the Premier League with Sheffield United in 22/23 and will be pushing the boundaries with Preston this season. They usually line up in a 3-5-2 formation; however, it may look more like a 5-3-2 given the calibre of opponent.

Emil Riis Jakobsen scored 12 league goals last season; however, he has departed for Bristol City. Daniel Jebbson will be looking to fill that gap, arriving on loan from AFC Bournemouth, but might not feature due to only just returning from the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Canada.

Liverpool Team News

Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott are expected to miss this one after returning late from England U21s’ European Championship win. The extent of Stefan Bajcetic’s fitness is still unknown after undergoing hamstring surgery.

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