Andoni Iraola met the media at the Endeavor Health Performance Center on the west side of Chicago, on Tuesday, and The Sports Bank was in attendance on site. Chicago will be the Liverpool FC homebase for their preseason tour of the United States. The three match tour begins in Nashville on Saturday night against Sunderland.
Let’s take a look at who Andoni Iraola might select for his starting XI at this weekend’s friendly in the music city.
2026 Liverpool USA Preseason Tour
July 25, Sunderland, Geodis Park, Nashville, TN, 5pm local, 11pm BST
July 29, Wrexham, Yankee Stadium, New York, NY, 7:30 local, 12:30 BST
Aug 2, Leeds United, Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, 3pm local, 9pm BST
Iraola on the importance of the Dominik Szoboszlai contract extension: Read more about that here
Liverpool Injury Updates: Jayden Danns, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni
Iraola on the future of Alisson and Alexis Mac Allister: go here
The goalkeeper and defense just basically picks itself, as we predicted the strongest options available for Iraola, in those position groups, at this moment. Moving further ahead, you have some strong options in the middle of the park, but barely options to choose from in attack.
The Reds will have to play some midfielders in the final third right now. And of course, expect wholesale changes at halftime, when more kids and reserves will come on.
Liverpool FC Predicted Starting XI vs Sunderland
Giorgi Mamardashvili; Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez, Jeremy Jacquet, Milos Kerkez; James McConnell, Dominic Szoboszlai, Trey Nyoni; Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.