Hertha Berlin vs Liverpool Preview: Reds Continue Pre-Season With Trip To Germany

​'Celebrating Football Since 1892' is the tagline that accompanies Liverpool's upcoming pre-season friendly with Hertha Berlin on Saturday 29th July, with both famous clubs celebrating their 125th anniversaries in 2017.

It will be Liverpool's fifth outing of pre-season overall and first back in Europe since winning the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong after beating Crystal Palace and Leicester.

Watch all Liverpool pre-season games here.

Past Encounters

In all those 125 years, Liverpool and Hertha have still yet to play each other in a competitive setting, although they have met in a friendly context on three previous occasions - 1973, 1994 and 2008 - and all were played in Berlin.

The 1973 encounter ended in a 1-1 draw, with Liverpool's goal courtesy of Steve Heighway. Liverpool then won 3-0 when the pair faced each other again 21 years later - a hat-trick from a teenage Robbie Fowler was the difference between the sides.

Nine years ago in 2008 (above), the final score-line read 0-0 and Liverpool went on to mount a serious title challenge and finish second in the Premier League in the season that followed.

The Venue

Berlin's iconic Olympiastadion will play host to the friendly this time around. Hertha have played their home games at the famous stadium for the last 54 years.

Image by Jamie Spencer

The pitch previously played host to the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy, while Usain Bolt set two incredible sprint records on the striking blue track at the 2009 World Athletics Championships. More recently, Barcelona won the 2015 Champions League final there.

Liverpool Team News

New signing Andrew Robertson could make an unofficial 'debut' for the Reds, while Danny Ings and Sadio Mane are back in full training and will be part of the squad that travels to Germany.

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Emre Can should be in contention after missing the Asia tour as a result of an extended holiday after his commitments with the German national team at the Confederations Cup. The midfielder reported back at Melwood this week and has been training with the rest of the squad.

Hertha Lowdown

Formed in the same year as Liverpool, Hertha have had something of an up and down existence. They were German champions twice in the 1930s, but seem to have spent much of the last 30 years either challenging for Europe or fighting relegation.

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Hertha were out of the top flight for six seasons between 1991 and 1997, meaning Berlin had no representative in the Bundesliga despite being Germany's capital city. Yet within a couple of years of their return they were in the Champions League and faced Chelsea.

The club has played in Europe semi-regularly this century, but they were relegated from the Bundesliga in 2010 and 2012, bouncing straight back on each occasion. In the last two seasons, Hertha have finished seventh and sixth, qualifying for the Europa League both times.

Players to Watch Out For

Former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou will be a familiar face in the Hertha squad, while Dutch defender Karim Rekik was formerly a youth player at Manchester City.

Hertha have left-back Marvin Plattenhardt back after he was a team-mate of Can's at the Confederations Cup, with Nicklas Stark and Mitchell Weiser also recently resumed training after Germany's victory at the Under-21 European Championship.

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All eyes are likely to be on new signing Davie Selke (pictured). The 22-year-old striker was with RB Leipzig last season where he played second fiddle to Timo Werner.

Still to Come for Liverpool

Two Audi Cup games, the first of which will be a semi-final against Bayern Munich, follow for the Reds at the Allianz Arena on 1st and 2nd August, while Jurgen Klopp's side then face Athletic Bilbao in a Dublin exhibition three days after wrapping up in Munich.

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 a club yet to be determined.

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