Liverpool's Pre-Season Showdown Against Leeds in Chicago

Liverpool’s American tune‑up tour rolls into Chicago on Sunday night, and this time Andoni Iraola has something close to a heavyweight cast at his disposal.

Two wins from two – against Sunderland and Wrexham – have given the new manager a clean, confident start, but this meeting with Leeds already feels like a different kind of rehearsal. The World Cup stragglers are back, the rotations are sharper, and the stakes, while still friendly, are beginning to rise.

Iraola steps up the gears

Iraola has spent the opening games shuffling his pack, testing combinations, and demanding intensity rather than polish. Only Giorgi Mamardashvili and Harvey Elliot have started both matches, a clear sign that nobody has a guaranteed place under the former Bournemouth boss.

Chicago should see the tempo go up a notch.

Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are now available after returning from World Cup duty with their countries. They add a very different feel to this squad – power, craft, and, in Isak, a focal point Liverpool barely used to full effect last season.

Then there is Jeremy Jacquet. The £60m defender, whose move was announced a year ago but only officially completed in June, is finally close to a proper introduction. Injury delayed his debut, but he is in contention to feature and could even start at the heart of defence. For a back line in transition, his presence would be a significant step toward Iraola’s long‑term blueprint.

Selection puzzles across the pitch

The injury list still bites. Joe Gomez, hurt in the win over Sunderland, misses out and may not be ready for the start of the Premier League campaign. At the other end of the spectrum, Spain international Victor Munoz remains on an extended break after La Roja’s World Cup triumph, as do Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk and Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister.

So Iraola will lean again on a blend of trusted lieutenants and hungry youngsters.

At right-back, Jeremie Frimpong is expected to reclaim his place from Calvin Ramsay, restoring the kind of relentless, overlapping threat Iraola loves from his full-backs. On the opposite flank, Milos Kerkez – a player the coach knows well from Bournemouth – is set to continue at left-back ahead of Kostas Tsimikas, underlining how quickly Kerkez has earned his manager’s trust.

The centre of defence is where the intrigue lies. Jacquet is pushing to start, and if he does, he is likely to be paired with one of the academy prospects: Luke Chambers, Ifeanyi Ndukwe or Talla Ndiaye. Pre-season is often where reputations are made, and for those three, a night in Chicago alongside a marquee signing is a rare audition on a big stage.

Midfield talent and attacking options

Dominik Szoboszlai, one of Liverpool’s most vibrant performers last season, is in line to start and could be partnered with Gravenberch in a midfield that suddenly looks loaded with athleticism and technique. If Iraola opts to manage Gravenberch’s minutes, the door opens again for youngsters Trey Nyoni or James McConnell to start, both already trusted enough to feature prominently in these early friendlies.

Further forward, Harvey Elliot may give way to Florian Wirtz. Iraola has confirmed the German playmaker is available, and a first pre-season start would offer a glimpse of how Wirtz can knit together Liverpool’s attacking patterns under the new regime.

On the left, Rio Ngumoha has earned his shot. The youngster scored the winner against Wrexham and impressed with his direct running and fearless approach. Pre-season can be cruelly fleeting, but right now Ngumoha is making himself hard to ignore.

Up front, all eyes drift towards Isak. His first campaign at the club never quite caught fire, but this tour offers a clean slate. With creative players like Szoboszlai and Wirtz feeding him, Chicago could be the night he begins to look like the striker Liverpool thought they were signing.

A friendly with an edge

It is still July football, still about fitness and rhythm, but there is a quiet edge to this one. Iraola is chasing a third straight win, sharpening his ideas, and gradually rolling out the core of the side that will open the Premier League season.

The rotation will continue. The experiments will not stop. Yet as the lights come on in Chicago and Leeds provide the latest examination, the outline of Iraola’s Liverpool grows a little clearer.

How quickly that outline hardens into a team ready for the real thing may define the opening months of their season.