Three Liverpool storylines to watch in the Reds' friendly against Real Betis

It's Arne Slot's first official friendly tonight.

Depending on where you are, Liverpool's friendly against Real Betis will be played on the 26th or 27th of July. It's an evening match in Pittsburgh, USA, meaning those tuning in from the UK will have to stay up late with the match kicking off at 00:30 BST (19:30 ET). So, what are some of the storylines to focus on in Slot's and Liverpool's pre-season opener?

Three Liverpool storylines to watch in the Reds' friendly against Real Betis

1. Level of intensity in opening friendly of USA tour

Like it was under Jurgen Klopp, the word intensity will reoccur under Arne Slot alot, whose philosophy on football is not too dissimilar to Klopp's. With that said, pre-season games rarely see teams pushing themselves to the absolute limit, so one question will be how hard the Liverpool players push themselves.

We know the high level of pressing saw under Klopp will be continued under Slot and the Reds' will also continue an "attack at all costs" mentality. On the contrary of it being pre-season, and the start of it at that, the Reds will also want to entertain the crowd amidst a tour in America.

2. Who will be the centre-back pairing?

Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate are all still on break after being part of their respective Euro 2024 national teams.

That leaves little choices for senior centre-back options for the time being in pre-season friendlies. Sepp van den Berg and Nat Phillips are both with the squad in Pittsburgh although their futures at the club remain unclear and will remain unclear until after the Reds return to England.

It seems likely that Slot will start with van den Berg and Jarell Quansah against Real Betis, with Phillips having an option to come off the bench. 17-year-old Amaro Nallo, who is with the squad, is also a centre-back, although it feels unlikely the youngster will be given a start in this match.

3. Opportunities for youngsters to shine

Copa America and the Euros, both happening the same summer, present a unique opportunity for a large number of academy players to feature regularly in the opening pre-season matches. In fact, about half of the travelling squad are young players who either just returned from loans or are still playing academy football this upcoming season.

For someone like Ben Doak, who missed a significant chunk of last season due to injury, this will be a great opportunity for the Scottish winger to earn himself a spot with the first team this season. The same goes for the likes of James McConnell and Kaide Gordon. Stefan Bajcetic will definitely be with the first team this season, but he will enjoy this chance to show that he can earn significant minutes under Slot as the youngster returns from a long-term injury like Doak.