Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher will start for Liverpool against Sydney FC on Wednesday night in a rare return to a Reds shirt.
The two club legends have been joined by Daniel Agger and Steve McManaman in Jurgen Klopp’s squad for the end-of-season friendly.
Former captain Gerrard will line up in midfield alongside Lucas and teenager Ben Woodburn, while Carragher will feature in a back four that also includes Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno and another youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Meanwhile, Sydney captain Alex Brosque is bullish about the Sky Blues’ chances against a “tired” Liverpool.
The Reds arrived in Australia on Wednesday morning.
With the Premier League having only just finished on Sunday – two weeks after Sydney defeated Melbourne Victory in the A-League grand final – Brosque reckons his side have a chance of winning.
The 33-year-old forward told reporters on Tuesday that tight 1-0 losses to Tottenham and Chelsea in 2015 give him confidence.
“They’re a great team in the Champions League next year and a huge worldwide club, but I think we gave Chelsea and Tottenham a good go two years ago.
“Liverpool coming here off a very successful season, they’ll be tired, they flew 24 hours after their last game, no doubt it’ll be a tough game but we’ll prepare for it as we do for every other game.
“We’re going to just enjoy it, fresh off what we’ve done this year, I think it’s a good time to be playing a club like Liverpool, and we’ll throwing our best at it.”
The match will also be a special occasion for Sydney winger David Carney, who spent some of his junior days the other side of the Mersey River at Everton.
“When I was over there in England at Everton and Blackpool, playing against them there was always good banter between everyone,” he told Sydney’s website.
“But my family is all Everton and it’ll be a good occasion for them and Australian football.”
Sydney will enter the match having broken a raft of records on their way to the A-League championship this season.
Liverpool defeated Middlesbrough 3-0 on Sunday to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since they finished second in 2013-14.
Wednesday night’s game will be the fourth friendly Liverpool have played against A-League opposition in four years, having previously faced Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United.
Liverpool are one of the best-supported foreign clubs Down Under, and Australian ex-Reds midfielder Craig Johnston believes there is a cultural affinity between the English city and his homeland.
“Getting out of Ireland, the first stop was always Liverpool. So there’s a lot of Irish in Liverpool,” Johnston said in the lead-up to the match.
“And don’t forget our heritage with the convicts and the Irish. So there’s an ironic sense of humour, there’s the love of music, there’s the love of football [that Australia and Liverpool have in common].”
Source: Goal.com