Liverpoolvs.Betis

Premier League powerhouses Arsenal and Manchester United will also be waiting to test the mettle of the Reds, who are still adjusting to life without Jurgen Klopp giving the orders.

Match preview

A penny for the reactions of Liverpool supporters up and down the land on that fateful day in January, when Klopp confirmed that the 2023-24 season would be his last as Reds head coach, proclaiming that his energy reserves were running on zero after a golden nine years.

While gunning for glory in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup last season did not work out as intended, Liverpool still managed to send Klopp on his well-earned hiatus with another EFL Cup winners' medal, in addition to an immediate return to the promised land of the Champions League.

As the in-demand Xabi Alonso remained loyal to Bayer Leverkusen and talks with Ruben Amorim led to nowhere, the new-look Liverpool hierarchy - spearheaded by the returning Michael Edwards as Fenway Sports Group's CEO of Football - welcomed Eredivisie-winning boss Slot to the chair as Klopp's successor.

However, the former Feyenoord boss did not enjoy a friendly baptism in his inaugural friendly match, which ended in a 1-0 behind-closed-doors defeat to Preston North End last Friday, as a team comprising Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai failed to stunt their Championship opponents.

The former's contract situation - as well as those of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk - means that Liverpool have been particularly quiet on the transfer front this summer, but Slot will still have a surfeit of established Reds performers at his disposal in the USA.

From a Premier League managerial novice to one who has already conquered the English game, ex-Manchester City head coach Manuel Pellegrini prepares for his fifth season in charge of Real Betis, whose 2023-24 campaign was nothing to shout about.

Indeed, Los Verdiblancos could only muster a seventh-placed finish in the most recent La Liga campaign, where they were one of the stalemate specialists with 15 draws to their name; only Mallorca (16) were involved in more one-pointers.

In addition, Betis could only muster a last-32 exit in the Copa del Rey and a third-placed finish in their Europa League group, which landed them in a Conference League-sized safety net, where they were beaten 2-1 over two legs by Dinamo Zagreb.

However, Pellegrini's men have started as they mean to continue in pre-season with a 5-1 thumping of Austria Salzburg in their opening friendly of the summer, and they will also face Manchester United in the USA, before subsequent meetings with Al-Ittihad, Raja CA and Bayer Leverkusen.

Friday's friendly sees Liverpool and Real Betis reunite almost 19 years on from their inaugural battles in the 2005-06 Champions League group stage, where the Reds edged a tight contest 2-1 away from home, before the Verdiblancos dug in for a goalless draw at Anfield.

Liverpool friendly form:

Real Betis friendly form:

Team News

Liverpool boarded their transatlantic flight without numerous Euro 2024 and Copa America representatives; all of Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Alisson Becker, Alexis Mac Allister, Joe Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch will join up with the squad at a later date.

Young stars Jayden Danns and Bobby Clark have also been omitted due to injuries, but Hungary's Szoboszlai and Scotland's Andy Robertson will be involved in Friday's friendly following their early Euros exits and should start in Pittsburgh.

Despite missing the loss to Preston amid talk of a possible transfer, second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is in the squad, while Ben Doak and Fabio Carvalho could support Salah in the Reds' attacking trident.

From present to past Liverpool goalkeepers, Friday's fixture will see Adrian reunite with the Reds just a few weeks on from re-joining Betis on a free transfer, but Rui Silva is expected to get the nod in between the posts.

Ex-Leicester City attacker Ayoze Perez was a part of Spain's triumphant Euros squad and is absent too, while German Pezzella became a Copa America winner with Argentina; midfielder Johnny Cardoso competed in the same tournament with the USA.

Morocco's Abde Ezzalzouli and Spain's Juan Miranda are also away on Olympics duty, while creator-in-chief Isco is recovering from a fibula fracture, so former Liverpool target Nabil Fekir will pull the strings in the number 10 slot.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Bradley, Phillips, Van den Berg, Robertson; Jones, Endo, Szoboszlai; Doak, Salah, Carvalho

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Silva; Sabaly, Llorente, Arnal, Perraud; Carvalho, Altimira; Fornals, Fekir, Juanmi; Fernandez

We say: Liverpool 1-1 Real Betis

A full-strength Liverpool would almost certainly be backed to teach Betis a footballing lesson, but Slot's depleted outfit could not assert their authority over Preston and are down to the bare bones in defence.

Previews by email