As stated by the club’s official website, Liverpool have announced that their final pre-season friendly match will be played at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End, due to ongoing construction work on the Anfield Road stand.
The match against SV Darmstadt, a German side, will take place on Monday, August 7, just six days before Liverpool’s Premier League campaign begins against Chelsea. The match against the German team will start at 7 pm.
The Anfield Road stand is currently undergoing a 7,000-seat expansion, and as the finishing touches are being applied, Liverpool have chosen to play their fifth and final friendly match in Lancashire.
This decision allows the club to ensure the completion of the stand before opening it to crowds of up to 61,000 spectators from mid-August onwards.
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There were rumours last month that Liverpool might be facing a delay of up to four weeks in opening the Anfield Road stand in time for the match against Bournemouth on August 19.
Traditionally, Liverpool have concluded their pre-season schedule with a match at Anfield. Last year, they faced Strasbourg just 24 hours after winning the Community Shield against Manchester City.
Two years ago, after the reopening of the ground to paying supporters following the COVID-19 pandemic, they played back-to-back games against Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao.
However, with Anfield set to welcome the largest crowds starting from August 19, Liverpool will now wrap up their pre-season preparations in Preston instead.
Liverpool will begin their pre-season training on Saturday, with the international players joining the squad on July 11.
The team will then travel to Germany for a training camp in the Black Forest and play a friendly match against Karlsruher on July 19 at the BBBank Wildpark Stadium.
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They will also have a behind-closed-doors match against Greuther Furth on July 24 before heading to Singapore.
In Singapore, Liverpool will face Leicester City at the National Stadium on July 30, followed by a match against Bayern Munich on August 2, both at the same venue.
Tickets for the friendly match against Darmstadt at Deepdale will go on sale from Thursday, July 6. A general sale will take place on Monday, July 10, subject to availability.