New-look Liverpool will hope to continue their 100% record in pre-season when they take on Adelaide United on Monday morning.
The Reds, without Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling but with several of their six major summer signings on board, have won two from two on their tour to the Far East and Australia.
They thrashed Thai All Stars 4-0 in Bangkok on Tuesday, and then came from behind to beat Brisbane Roar 2-1 three days later thanks to this winning goal from free transfer James Milner.
Brisbane gave the Reds an excellent workout, and Adelaide United are likely to prove even more stern opposition. They finished third in the 2015 A-League standings – three places and 12 points above Roar.
In their 53,000-capacity home stadium, Adelaide will wear their alternative yellow kit to allow Liverpool to play in their famous red shirts, one of which could soon belong to Christian Benteke.
Reports on Sunday claimed that the Merseysiders had agreed terms and a payment structure with Aston Villa over the £32.5m transfer of the Belgian striker, also linked with Manchester United.
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The amount of crosses whipped into the Brisbane box suggested that Brendan Rodgers is already planning for life with Benteke, a powerhouse forward who is a formidable threat in the air.
Liverpool’s current target man is Rickie Lambert, but the veteran has been sent to hospital for scans on a training injury and joined left-back Alberto Moreno on the sidelines.
Lambert’s absence means that there might be a chance for Danny Ings to play through the middle. The former Burnley forward was asked to do a job out wide in a 4-3-3 formation against Brisbane.
Rodgers will likely stick with the same system, but change many of the personnel. Adam Bogdan, Andre Wisdom, Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure, Joe Allen and Lazar Markovic are all in line for run outs.
There may be a temptation for Rodgers to maintain the midfield partnership of new captain Jordan Henderson and Milner ahead of the upcoming campaign. Otherwise, youngster Jordan Rossiter could get a go.
Kickoff at the Adelaide Oval is scheduled for 10.30am GMT.
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