Liverpool play their first pre-season friendly of the summer on Saturday with a clash against newly-promoted Bundesliga side Stuttgart.
The Premier League champions have been put through their paces at a training camp on the outskirts of Salzburg and will now step up preparations for the new season.
Match preview
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Given the unprecedented circumstances, every Premier League club's pre-season will be a lot different this year, with trips to the Far East and America simply not possible.
In many ways that could be a good thing for managers, allowing them to simply focus on fitness and tactics, rather than having to appease various sponsors.
Less than a month on from concluding their 2019-20 Premier League campaign, Liverpool are now readying themselves for their first top-flight title defence in three decades.
The Reds announced two friendlies earlier this week, with this clash against German side Stuttgart being followed up with a match against Austrian champs Red Bull Salzburg three days later.
That will be it in terms of preparations for the new campaign, which will officially begin on August 29 with the Community Shield curtain-raiser against Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp's men then have a two-week breather before beginning their title defence with a tasty home clash against Championship winners Leeds United.
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Klopp has already acknowledged that the start of 2020-21 will be "tough" for his side given the quick turnaround between seasons, though the Reds have at least had a chance to regroup.
Manchester City's 2019-20 campaign only finished last weekend, by comparison, and they have an even shorter turnaround before it all gets underway again.
Never has squad depth been so important to clubs as it will be this season, yet Klopp has made just the one new signing so far - left-back Kostas Tsimikas coming in from Olympiacos.
These two friendlies, plus the Community Shield, will give Klopp a chance to give Tsimikas and some of his fringe players a chance to impress, with the likes of Curtis Jones and Rhian Brewster expected to feature more frequently.
The first of the friendlies against Stuttgart should also provide the English champions with a stern test - Pellegrino Matarazzo's men having just earned promotion back to the German top flight.
Die Roten finished second in 2. Bundesliga last term and are back in the big time after three seasons away.
Stuttgart have had an extra month off compared to Liverpool and have already had one outing this summer, thrashing Sandhausen 6-1, so they should be in better shape for this friendly.
Liverpool form (end of 2019-20): WWDLWW
Stuttgart form (end of 2019-20): WDLWWL
Head To Head
This will be only the second match of any kind between the clubs.
They previously faced off in a friendly in August 1980, with Kenny Dalglish and David Fairclough on target in a 3-2 defeat for the Reds.
We say: Liverpool 1-0 Stuttgart
Fitness will be more important than the result on Saturday, of course, but Klopp will be keen to start building some momentum ahead of the Community Shield clash with Arsenal next weekend. Stuttgart, like Liverpool, enjoyed an impressive 2019-20 campaign and will be tough to beat this weekend.
Daniel Lewis
