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Liverpool Football Club has unveiled an exciting pre-season schedule for summer 2025, featuring a return to Asia and the club’s first-ever summer visit to Japan, as manager Arne Slot prepares his Premier League champions for another title defense.

The centerpiece of Liverpool’s pre-season campaign will be a high-profile encounter against AC Milan on Saturday, July 26, at the newly opened Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong

This fixture will compete for the Standard Chartered Trophy and marks a significant milestone as the first major football match at the impressive 50,000-seat venue, which officially opened on March 1, 2025.

The match carries additional emotional weight, coming exactly 20 years after Liverpool’s legendary Champions League final victory over AC Milan in Istanbul.

Following their Hong Kong clash Liverpool will make history with their first-ever summer visit to Japan, facing J-League side Yokohama F?

Marinos on July 30.

This trip aligns perfectly with Liverpool’s strengthened commercial ties to Japan, particularly their multi-million-pound sponsorship deal with Japan Airlines announced in 2024.

The presence of Japan national team captain Wataru Endo in Liverpool’s squad further enhances the club’s connection with Japanese supporters.

Liverpool’s pre-season preparations will officially commence on July 8, 2025, when players report back to the AXA Training Centre.

And before their Asia trip, the club has announced that they will begin closer to home with a fixture against Preston North End on July 13 at Deepdale Stadium.

The clash will kick-off at 3pm BST.

Arne Slot experienced his first taste of management with Liverpool in a behind-closed-doors friendly against the same opposition last year.

That encounter in July 2024 resulted in a 1-0 defeat, with Robbie Brady scoring a spectacular 40-yard lob to give Preston victory.

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