With just nine days until their Premier League opener against Stoke City, Liverpool have a pair of friendlies this weekend to round off their pre-season.

First, on Saturday, they travel to the Finnish capital to face HJK Helsinki, the current leaders of the Veikkausliiga.

HJK

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The Finnish season doesn't run in sync with the top European leagues so HJK are right in the middle of their Veikkausliiga campaign and currently lead the league by two points.

They are the defending champions and that earned them a place in this season's Champions League. They are currently juggling qualification to the group stage with their league games and this friendly against Liverpool.

After a run of four games without a win, they have now not lost in four and won three of those games to get back on track.

First, they secured a 4-1 aggregate win over Latvian outfit FK Ventspils in Champions League qualifying before a 2-1 home win over KTP in the league.

On Wednesday they had the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie against Astana and managed just a 0-0 draw. The visit of Liverpool is a big game for the club, but manager Mika Lehkosuo is likely to have one eye on the return leg all the way in Kazakhstan four days later.

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Liverpool

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Brendan Rodgers's men are back in Europe following the conclusion of their Far Eastern tour, where they went unbeaten against Thailand All-Stars, two Australian outfits and a Malaysia XI.

They began with three straight victories but finished the tour in slightly disappointing fashion with a 1-1 draw against the Malaysia XI a week ago.

Tomorrow's game in Helsinki is one of two pre-season friendlies for the Reds this weekend as they step up their preparation for the start of the season next weekend.

After the contest against HJK, Liverpool take on Swindon Town on Sunday, with the likes of Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino possibly featuring against the League One side as they haven't travelled to Finland.

It certainly feels like a big season for Rodgers. After going so close to the Premier League title in 2013-14, he lost Luis Suarez to Barcelona and the following season saw the Reds drop to sixth, finishing 25 points behind champions Chelsea.

This summer big names have again departed, with club legend Steven Gerrard leaving after 17 years and Raheem Sterling earning the big-money move he wanted to Manchester City. They have signed Benteke, Firmino, Nathaniel Clyne and others, but the pressure will be on Rodgers to push the Reds back towards the top four.

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Team News

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The 16-man squad flew out earlier today and among the names included was Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho.

The Reds' number 10 only recently joined up with his teammates after an extended summer break because he featured in the Copa America for Brazil.

Also in the squad are new signings Clyne, James Milner, Danny Ings and Joe Gomez. One man not included was Mario Balotelli, whose future at Anfield looks uncertain.

HJK will be hoping that dangerous forward duo Demba Savage and Mike Havenaar can get back to scoring ways after misfiring against Astana on Wednesday.

HJK possible starting lineup:
Orlund; Sorsa, Moren, Heikkinen, Baah; Moussi, Tanaka, Schuller; Savage, Havenaar, Zeneli

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Gomez; Henderson, Milner; Ibe, Coutinho, Lallana; Origi

Head To Head

Saturday's match is Liverpool's first visit to the Finnish capital for 25 years.

Goals from Ray Houghton and David Burrows gave Liverpool a 2-0 friendly victory on that occasion.

Eight years earlier there was a two-legged European Cup meeting that Liverpool won 5-1 on aggregate thanks to a dominant performance in the home leg after going down 1-0 at the Olympic Stadium, where tomorrow's game is also held.

We say: HJK 1-1 Liverpool

HJK are likely to be a little sharper as they are in the middle of their domestic season and could prove to be Liverpool's sternest test of pre-season. Still, the Reds have taken a strong squad out to Finland and it should be a competitive affair.

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