Liverpool have played their last friendly and now they are preparing for their trip to Wembley for the Community Shield.

The Reds’ pre-season is over and they finished things off with a 3-2 win at Anfield against Athletic Bilbao.

Due to playing two games against the Spanish side, almost every player got a run-out and some valuable minutes under their belt, meaning they should be ready for the new season to begin.

Arne Slot has found out a lot about his team over the last month or so, with the Dutchman likely close to knowing his best XI, barring any late arrivals which are still expected to come through the door.

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However, there is one player who has perhaps gone under the radar and had a quietly good pre-season, with ex-Liverpool player Ray Houghton believing he has actually improved despite being excellent en route to lifting the Premier League title.

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So often it is the attack of Liverpool that gets all the credit, something that has still been the case this summer due to the arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.

However, the midfield just behind them is the real heartbeat of the team, with the players they have in this department also nothing short of sensational.

Ryan Gravenberch is a player in particular who had a great season last time out, with the Dutchman moving into a holding midfield role and really making that position his own.

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Over pre-season he has continued his good form too, and despite winning Premier League Young Player of the Year, Houghton believes that he has actually improved over the last few months.

“Ryan has been impressive in midfield.

I think he has actually improved as a player from last season,” he said on LFCTV during Liverpool’s win over Bilbao.

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“His positional play has been very good, but his vision and awareness is a lot better from what I’ve seen tonight compared to what I’ve seen previously from him.”

Gravenberch, like many of the first-team squad, managed to get a full 90 minutes against the Spanish side, with the team Slot fielded for their second game likely being close to the one he will pick for their match against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Reds fans have been mightily impressed with the Dutchman this summer, but if they cast their minds back to the final day of last season, they may remember that he got himself sent off.

This means that he will serve his suspension at the beginning of the new campaign, meaning that he is unavailable for their season-opener against Bournemouth.

That means Slot has a big decision to make, although he is not short of options.

The most obvious choice is to play Wataru Endo there instead as that is his natural position and he has definitely earned the right to get some minutes.

However, what the manager will likely do, as he did on occasions in the past, is to play Alexis Mac Allister a little deeper instead, as long as he has no more fitness issues.

That will probably mean Dominik Szoboszlai will take up the final spot in midfield alongside him, with Wirtz just in front.

Of course, it is far from ideal and Gravenberch will be a massive loss, especially as he is a “unique” player that adds something very different.

But if they manage to get through it, normal service will be resumed and Slot can go back to his preferred XI, starting with that anticipated clash with Newcastle the following week.
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