Liverpool vs Barcelona – International Champions Cup – Preview

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Sreya

Liverpool will face Barcelona at the New Wembley on 6th August, Saturday in an International Champions Cup fixture before flying off to Germany on Sunday to face Bundesliga club Mainz.

Jurgen Klopp is looking for an inspiring performance from his side, still finding their feet into the pre-season, following the disappointing loss against AS Roma. Although Liverpool won against AC Milan, the losses to Chelsea and AS Roma have ended any hope of the Kops winning the International Champion Cup.

With most of Liverpool’s players still regaining match fitness, Jurgen Klopp has acknowledged he is still considering all his options before choosing his starting line-up for Liverpool’s first Premier League game of the season against Arsenal.

The arrival of Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum has provided Klopp with much needed options going forward, but how the defense fares, especially with the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the opposition, remains to be seen.

“These games are friendlies, but it’s all about getting into the best shape you can. That’s really important for me and I want to see all the potential, all the fitness at this moment and a working attitude, which is very good in training but then especially in a situation like this.”

– Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool.

Barcelona, yet to lose a game in this pre-season, are without the Olympic-bound Neymar. Luis Enrique is still undecided on his first-choice right back and the match against Liverpool could offer some answers to the fans and pundits alike.

“The last few months, everybody saw a really good performance from Liverpool. They had a chance to win the Europa League and in the Premier League they played really well. Now it’s a new season, I think the manager [will] have confidence they can finish in the top four.”

– Luis Suarez, Barcelona.

According to Head-2-Head statistics, Liverpool have won three and lost two of their eight competitive matches against Barcelona. The Catalan club are likely to win by a 3-1 scoreline.

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