Liverpool vs Lyon

Liverpool and Olympique Lyonnais will exchange tackles in a handsomely-looking mid-season friendly at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.

Liverpool could not have timed their return to prominence any worse as the World Cup break curtailed their momentum amid a decent four-match winning streak across all competitions. Jurgen Klopp’s side dismantled perennial bottom-half Premier League strugglers Southampton 3-1 on the stroke of the mid-season hiatus to increase their faint hopes of reigniting a top-four pursuit. With a game in hand, the ‘Reds’ trail fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur by seven points, meaning they have no margin for error anymore. So Klopp will hope to keep his players up to speed during the break, especially against a Lyon side they defeated 2-1 in their most recent friendly meeting in July 2019.

Meanwhile, Lyon got their warm-weather preparation off to a flyer, dispatching Belgian outfit OH Leuven 5-3, yet a thumping 3-0 defeat to Arsenal last time out brought Laurent Blanc’s men back down to earth. Having conceded precisely three goals in both mid-season friendlies, ‘Les Gones’ look to be a perfect victim to help Liverpool rediscover their scoring mojo. Indeed, the underperforming Ligue 1 heavyweights have only kept one clean sheet in their last 12 outings, highlighting a porous backline as the team’s weakest link. It’s also worth mentioning that Lyon have only won two of their nine matches played outside their Groupama Stadium this season (D1, L6).