Five Liverpool players to watch against Manchester United - First glimpse at Liverpool 22/2023

With Liverpool kicking off their pre-season today against Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp's large squad will be eager to impress.

New signings Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho will be keen to hit the ground running.

The Reds' 37-man squad will play Manchester United, Crystal Palace, RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, Manchester City (Community Shield) and RC Strasbourg Alsace over the next few weeks.

With the squad including experience, quality, youth and new additions - here are five players to watch for Liverpool across pre-season.

Darwin Nunez - The Reds' new striker from Uruguay

Understandably, Liverpool's record signing has to be a player to watch during pre-season.

Arriving for a fee of around £85M, the ex-Benfica forward will want to hit the ground running at his new club ahead of the start of the Premier League in less than a month.

Deployed as a centre-forward, he'll want to experience playing with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz who are Liverpool's strongest attackers.

Building up some initial chemistry will be key for the Uruguayan as he looks to lead this new-look attack.

Fabio Carvalho - Liverpool's next teenage prodigy

Coming off the back of an impressive campaign with newly-promoted Fulham, Carvalho arrives at Liverpool with plenty of hype surrounding him.

Signing from Fulham for a fee of around £5M, the Portuguese attacking midfielder will hope to get some game-time to show the fans exactly what he is capable of.

With a long line of central midfielders, Carvalho will be looking to display the attacking talents that made him a Liverpool target in the first place.

We may even see Carvalho deployed in a number 10 position as Klopp looks to find the best way to integrate the young talent into this Liverpool side.

Joe Gomez - A future Liverpool veteran

Having just signed a new long-term deal, fans are excited to see a fully fit and motivated Joe Gomez. If he stays at the club for the duration of his deal, he will play for Liverpool for over ten years.

Breaking into the team in the 2018/19 season, he partnered Virgil van Dijk and helped Liverpool breeze the Premier League title.

Their partnership was key to their success but a long-term injury saw Gomez lose the momentum he had built for club and country.

With the Englishman fully fit and committed to the long-term future of Liverpool, fans will be hoping this will be a chance for him to break into the team again as he competes against Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip for a starting spot.

Harvey Elliot - Ready to make his mark?

The young star has impressed whenever he has put on a Liverpool shirt and the 19-year-old will be eyeing up a starting place in midfield.

He had locked down that starting place at the start of last season, starting three out of the first four games before a horrific ankle injury ruled him out a few months.

Inevitably, he struggled to stay fully fit for the rest of the season and couldn't play himself back into the Liverpool side.

Fully fit and raring to go for pre-season could see Elliot find himself back in the side for the start of the season alongside Thiago and Fabinho - but he faces stiff competition from his fellow teammates.

Luis Diaz - The real Sadio Mane replacement?

The Columbian winger dazzled fans in his debut months at Liverpool following his move from Porto in the January transfer window.

His electric pace and energy breathed new life into Liverpool's season as he became an instant fan favourite.

Competing with Diogo Jota and Nunez for a spot in the attacking front three, there's no doubt Diaz will be a guaranteed starter alongside Salah for the duration of the season.

Following Sadio Mane's departure, he is now the first choice left-sided attacker and he will be keen to lock it down over pre-season.