Liverpool vs Leicester Preview: Reds Prepare to Face Foxes in Premier League Asia Trophy Final
Liverpool will face fellow Premier League side Leicester City in their fourth game of pre-season on Saturday as they contest the final of the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.
The Reds won their semi-final of the summer competition against Crystal Palace earlier this week, while Jurgen Klopp's side had already won and drawn early July friendlies against Tranmere and Wigan before heading out on tour.
Watch all Liverpool pre-season games here.
Last Season's Encounters
Liverpool happened to be the very first team on the receiving end of the Leicester backlash that followed Claudio Ranieri's dismissal last season.
The champion Foxes had fallen off a cliff, but as Ranieri was given the boot in February it sparked a controversial revival and it was an unexpectedly inspired Leicester side that Liverpool met at the King Power Stadium that night, going down 3-1.
Earlier in the season, the Reds had dished out severe punishment when the pair met at Anfield. Goals from Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane had Klopp's team cruising at 2-0 after half an hour. Even when Jamie Vardy pulled a goal back, a goal from Adam Lallana and another from Firmino put the result to bed in the second half at 4-1.
The Venue
The instantly recognisable Hong Kong Stadium hosted the semi-final win over Palace, during which Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi scored, and will once again be the setting for the final.
Image by Jamie Spencer
It has regularly been used by touring Premier League clubs in years gone by and the Premier League Asia Trophy has given passionate overseas fans the chance to see all-Premier League encounters up close every other summer since it began in 2003.
Team News
Mohamed Salah has been in fine form in the two games he's played since joining from Roma, while Jordan Henderson continues to make good progress after missing the final three months of last season through injury. The captain has played all three summer friendlies so far.
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Emre Can is yet to take part in pre-season after being granted an extended holiday in the wake of Confederations Cup duty with Germany. He will be back at Melwood on Saturday, though, and awaits the return of the rest of the squad from Hong Kong.
Leicester Summer Lowdown
After ultimately avoiding becoming the first reigning English champions to be relegated in 80 years, Leicester began their preparations for 2017/18 with a training camp in Austria.
Their Premier League Asia Trophy semi-final win over West Brom (7-6 on penalties) was actually their first outing of pre-season, with the bulk of their schedule still to come. Leicester have five more friendlies - mostly against Football League sides, but one against Borussia Monchengladbach - to play between 26th July and 4th August after returning to England.
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Three first-teamers have left since last season - veteran defender Marcin Wasilewski, second choice goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler and fringe midfielder Bartosz Kapustka (loan).
New Players to Watch Out for
The Foxes have added a handful of new players to their squad during the summer so far, perhaps most notably former Hull defender Harry Maguire for a fee rumoured to be £17m.
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Impressive Swiss goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic is another have joined from Hull, replacing the departed Zieler as a back-up to Kasper Schmeichel. He only sealed his transfer this week but has already made the trip to Hong Kong to link up with the rest of the squad.
Defensive midfielder Vicente Iborra, a three-time Europa League winner with Sevilla - including in 2016 in the final against Liverpool - has also joined the Foxes this summer.
Still to Come for Liverpool
The Leicester game marks the end of Liverpool's commitments in Asia and the squad will return to Europe afterwards for a friendly against Hertha Berlin in Berlin's famous Olympiastadion.
Two Audi Cup games, the first of which will be a semi-final against Bayern Munich, follow at the Allianz Arena on 1st and 2nd August, while the Reds then face Athletic Bilbao in a Dublin exhibition three days after wrapping up in Munich.
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Liverpool's Premier League campaign kicks off with a lunchtime game against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday 12th August, followed almost immediately by the first leg of the Champions League playoff round against an opponent yet to be determined.
