Florian Wirtz absence explained as £29m new signing makes Liverpool debut vs Preston

Florian Wirtz absence explained as £29m new signing makes Liverpool debut vs Preston

Liverpool team and full line-up for Preston North End clash confirmed as Florian Wirtz left out

The Liverpool team bus arrives before the pre-season friendly football match between Preston North End and Liverpool at Deepdale stadium in Preston, north-west England on July 13, 2025

Giorgi Mamardashvili will make his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt for the opening pre-season friendly at Preston North End this afternoon. Mamardashvili is the only one of the six summer arrivals to start the game at Deepdale, which is the first the Reds are playing following the tragic death of Diogo Jota last week.

Fellow new signings Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, along with goalkeepers Freddie Woodman and Armin Pesci, are on the bench.

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Florian Wirtz, the club record £116million signing from Bayer Leverkusen, is among several players not included, along with skipper Virgil van Dijk, defender Ibrahima Konate, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and winger Luis Diaz.

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A number of Liverpool’s senior players not involved today have instead been taking part in individual training sessions back at Kirkby.

Given the obvious disruption to the Reds’ pre-season preparations, no risks are being taken over the fitness of players.

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Mohamed Salah is the most prominent starter at Deepdale, with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai lining up in the two deeper midfield roles.

Conor Bradey is the right-back and Kostas Tsimikas left-back, while Joe Gomez is set to be joined by youngster Luca Stephenson in the heart of defence.

Federico Chiesa leads the line with two youngsters, Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, featuring on the left flank and as number 10 respectively.

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Stefan Bajcetic is out with injury while both Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton are on an extended break after helping England retain the UEFA European Under-21 Championships.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Bradley, Gomez, Stephenson, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nyoni, Ngumoha; Chiesa.

Subs: Woodman, Pecsi, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Gakpo, Robertson, Doak, Kerkez, Frimpong, Nallo, Koumas, Morrison, Pilling.

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