Guide to Liverpool ahead of Shankly Trophy match
- Town play Liverpool in the Shankly Trophy
- David Wagner will face former colleague Jürgen Klopp
- Kick off is at 7:45pm on Wednesday at the John Smith’s Stadium
David Wagner’s First Team will take on Liverpool in the Shankly Trophy as the two Club's commemorate Bill Shankly’s remarkable career.
Bill Shankly left Huddersfield Town in December 1959 before going onto win Division One and the FA Cup on multiple occasions as well as the UEFA Cup during his 15 year spell at the Merseyside Club.
Wednesday night’s match also sees former Borussia Dortmund colleagues Jürgen Klopp and David Wagner face each other on the touch line. Town’s Head Coach was the Dortmund II boss while Klopp was in charge of the Dortmund First Team.
The opposition
Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers in October last year and guided them to an eighth place finish in the Premier League.
However, the German manager did have more success in cup competitions, despite not lifting a trophy. They finished runners-up to Man City in the League Cup, losing 3-1 on penalties and were beaten 3-1 by Sevilla in the Europa League final.
Klopp’s side have had a busy pre-season so far playing three friendlies over nine days. They beat Tranmere, Fleetwood and Wigan 1-0, 5-0 and 2-0 respectively.
Following the friendly with Town, Liverpool will face the likes of Chelsea, AC Milan and Barcelona in the International Champions Cup as they prepare for their opening Premier League fixture of the season against Arsenal.
Liverpool players to watch
Liverpool's Player of the Season Philippe Coutinho returned to action in their last friendly against Tranmere and will be one of many for Town fans to watch on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian international scored eight goals last season and is a vital part of Jürgen Klopp’s side.
One of Liverpool’s new signings Sadio Mane should make a big impact for Klopp’s side next season. The former Southampton man cost £32 million and will join Coutinho and Firmino in the three attacking midfielders behind the striker.
Danny Ings suffered an injury at the start of last season which severely limited his playing time. However, the former Burnley man has been back amongst the goals this pre-season as he tries to force his way into the First Team.
Liverpool Signings
As he prepares for his first full season in charge Jürgen Klopp spent no time bringing in new players as he hopes for a higher finish in the Premier League next season.
His first signings for the upcoming season were made during the last campaign as he agreed a loan deal for highly rated youngster Marko Grujic from Red Star Belgrave and signed Joel Matip on a free transfer from Schalke 04.
Following the end of the season Klopp continued to add to his squad bringing in goalkeeper Loris Karius from FSV Mainz 05 before announcing their marquee signing of the transfer window so far, Sadio Mane from Southampton.
While transfers have come in, some players have also left Melwood. Liverpool received £15 million for young Englishman Jordan Ibe and Martin Skrtel joined Fenerbahce for a fee believed to be around £5.5 million.
Previous Meetings
22 Aug 1970: Liverpool 4-0 Town
19 Dec 1970: Town 0-0 Liverpool
23 Oct 1971: Liverpool 2-0 Town
12 Feb 1972: Town 0-1 Liverpool
12 Dec 1999: Town 0-2 Liverpool
