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Manchester United and Liverpool will begin their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a pre-season friendly at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Thailand on Tuesday.
The Red Devils are building towards their Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 7, while Liverpool will face Manchester City in the Community Shield at the end of the month.
Erik ten Hag will manage Man United for the first time on Tuesday, with the 20-time English champions beginning their pre-season with a glamour friendly against bitter rivals Liverpool; the club have six games in the diary before the start of their Premier League season against Brighton.
Man United ended last season without a trophy, and finished sixth in the Premier League table, so they will play in the Europa League this term, which is thought to be the main reason why Cristiano Ronaldo is so keen to depart; Ronaldo is not with the squad in Thailand due to a personal issue, but there is a chance that he could feature in the Australia leg of the tour.
The Red Devils will take on Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in their three matches after this one before returning to Europe to face Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in back-to-back days, with their opening league game of the 2022-23 campaign coming one week later.
Liverpool’s 2021-22 campaign ended in disappointment, with the team finishing second behind Manchester City in the Premier League table and losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid, they did manage to win an FA Cup and EFL Cup double last term.
The Reds will again look to battle Man City at the top of the Premier League in the coming season, and head coach Jurgen Klopp will again be demanding the highest of standards from his players.
Sadio Mane, who has been so crucial to the team’s success in recent years, has been allowed to join Bayern Munich, while Takumi Minamino, Marko Grujic, Divock Origi, Ben Woodburn, Sheyi Ojo and Loris Karius have also departed, but there have been three new signings at Anfield.
Talented teenagers Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsey have arrived from Fulham and Aberdeen respectively, while Darwin Nunez has been the statement signing from Benfica, and the 23-year-old will be looking to show what Man United are missing on Tuesday, with the striker set to play a part.
Liverpool will take on Crystal Palace, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg in friendlies this summer before taking on Man City in the Community Shield on July 30; they will then face Strasbourg in their final pre-season match one day later before opening their Premier League season against Fulham on August 6.