Overview
It will be difficult to improve the performance after such a dominating season, but it is clear that Liverpool are aiming for an even higher goal for the 2025-2026 season.
Coach Arne Slot has led Liverpool to the Premier League title with a squad built by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp. However, at the moment, the Dutch captain is gradually leaving his own mark on the team through a series of notable additions this summer.
Hugo Ekitike is the latest name to join Liverpool, along with Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. The Kop are trying to defend their Premier League title after winning it from Manchester City last season.
After failing to win in the last 4 matches of last season, Liverpool defeated Preston with a score of 3-1. This was their first match since Diogo Jota's tragic death in a traffic accident.
Currently, the "Red Brigade" has flown to Asia to make a short tour. They will face Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos next week, then return home to face Athletic Bilbao. This is also their last match before entering the English Super Cup match against Crystal Palace.
Liverpool will now focus on the friendly match with AC Milan. The two teams have met many times since the two Champions League finals in the mid-2000. That includes three friendlies and three Champions League games, with Liverpool largely crowned winners.
The last meeting between the two teams took place in the opening match of the Champions League group stage last season. At that time, Liverpool won 3-1 right at San Siro, despite falling behind early by Christian Pulisic's goal.
Milan played against Arsenal earlier this week. They lost 0-1 to the "Gunners", then won 6-5 in a penalty shootout.
It was Massimiliano Allegri's first match since returning to lead the Rossoneri, after 11 years of leaving the club to move to Juventus. This summer, he is facing a major reconstruction mission at the San Siro.
With some key players such as Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez leaving the team, and many other names that could join the team, Milan is expected to undergo a major renovation.
Milan will not feature in any European competition next season. Therefore, their entire focus will be on Serie A.
Personnel situation
Slot gave Frimpong, Kerkez and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili a chance to debut in the win over Preston earlier this month. Liverpool fans will certainly be looking forward to seeing Wirtz wear red for the first time.
On the other side of the front line, after losing Reijnders and According to Hernandez, Rafael Leao continues to be the name rumored to leave Milan. However, the Portuguese player was still in the starting lineup for the match against Arsenal.
Milan has invested heavily to rebuild the midfield, with the presence of Samuele Ricci and veteran Luka Modric - who have just joined San Siro after a decade of his peak in the Real Madrid shirt.
Expected lineup:
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Konate, Gomez, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Endo, Jones, Salah, Nunez, Ngumoha.
AC Milan: Terracciano, Tomori, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Saelemaekers, Ricci, Musah, Loftus-Cheek, Chukwueze, Leao, Okafor.
The match between Liverpool and AC Milan takes place at 6:30 p.m. on July 26 (Vietnam time).
