Games against Leicester, Bayern Munich in Singapore to set the tone for Liverpool's season: Jurgen Klopp

SINGAPORE: There are about two weeks to go before Liverpool Football Club officially open their 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) campaign at Chelsea on Aug 13. 

Pre-season training is critical, not only in terms of building fitness after the summer break, but it also helps to set the tone for when the season starts.

The Reds found it tough going last term, failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2015-16 season and leaving star forward Mohamed Salah "totally devastated".

Liverpool's players are desperate to make amends and their upcoming friendlies against Championship side Leicester City on Sunday (Jul 30) and German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich three days later at the National Stadium will be a good gauge of how well the team can perform this season.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Saturday, defender Virgil van Dijk said: “We all are human beings and over the last few years, we all had a lot of success together.

"If you had the season that we had last year, a lot of things didn't go as we all wanted and we want to put it right. So far, pre-season has been very good – very hard, but very good and hopefully, it can benefit us for the rest of the season."

After a 13-year absence, Liverpool visited Singapore in July last year to take on fellow EPL outfit Crystal Palace in a friendly. Just like in 2022, the team received a rousing reception in Singapore when they arrived on Friday and van Dijk sought to pay tribute to the fans.

"We love to come here. We love the fans. We appreciate all of you supporting us all over the world but obviously to be here and feel the love ... everyone wants to feel loved and see all the fans at the (Ritz Carlton) hotel, at the training and tonight