UPDATE NOW : Jota return, Alexander-Arnold replacement – Dream Liverpool line-up for Real Betis friendly

LFC TRANSFER NEWS LIVE : Jota return, Alexander-Arnold replacement – Dream Liverpool line-up for Real Betis friendly

Latest Liverpool news as the Reds prepare for their first official pre-season friendly with the return of a number of key players

Arne Slot will have more players available to him for Liverpool’s pre-season friendly with Real Betis(Image: John Powell)

Liverpool’s preparations for the new season are well underway under Arne Slot. There are 28 days until the Reds kick-off their Premier League campaign at Ipswich Town meaning plans are well in place at the AXA Training Centre.

On Friday, Slot started his reign in charge of the club with a narrow defeat to Championship side Preston North End. The fixture was a behind-closed-doors one, something that has become rather frequent in football nowadays.

Mohamed Salah was among those that started on Merseyside in a largely youthful XI. Slot named two different line-ups for each other, with 25 players given the chance to impress during the 90-minute game.

Liverpool suffer friendly defeat to Preston as Arne Slot given first selection hint

On Tuesday, Liverpool will fly to the USA as part of their pre-season plans. They will take on Real Betis in the early hours of next Saturday morning (UK time) before facing Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.

The trip to stateside will give Slot further opportunity to assess his squad against better opposition. This week, international stars Andrew Robertson, Dominik Szobodzlai and Vitezslav Jaros all returned to training and it’s expected that more of the players that competed in Euro 2024 and Copa America will join them.

But exactly how will Liverpool line-up against Betis in Pittsburgh next weekend? Here, the ECHO has identified a dream XI for Slot against the La Liga side.

In goal, first-choice Alisson could return to training in time after Brazil crashed out of Copa America at the quarter-final stage. Czech Republic international Jaros played the first half against Preston but Caoimhin Kelleher is likely to start against Betis.