English Premier League giants Liverpool are all set to be accorded a warm welcome by their ever-growing army of Thai fans when they arrive in Bangkok on Monday to begin their Far East and Australia pre-season tour.
The Reds are scheduled to land at Suvarnabhumi airport in the morning when they are expected to be greeted by hundreds of fans.
Manager Brendan Rodgers’ men are scheduled to square off against the True All-Stars team coached by former national star striker Kiatisak Senamuang in a friendly encounter at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium tomorrow at 8pm.
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After the game in Bangkok, the Liverpool squad will head to Australia and Malaysia before flying back to Europe where they have another friendly game lined up in Finland.
Activities celebrating Liverpool's sixth visit to the Kingdom commenced yesterday with the Kop Run, a charity running event featuring former Liverpool stars Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler.
The charity run event was led by HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha.
After the team's arrival, some of the players will visit the Grand Palace and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. Rodgers and Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva will attend a press conference at Plaza Athenee hotel in the afternoon.
The team will then have an open training session at Rajamangala in the evening.
Meanwhile according to reports from BBC yesterday, wantaway midfielder Raheem Sterling has been withdrawn from the club's pre-season tour, with the Reds in talks over a transfer with Manchester City.
Sterling has asked to leave Anfield and was the subject of two bids from City in June, which were rejected. The 20-year-old is under contract until 2017, but has turned down a new £100,000-a-week deal at Liverpool.
He had asked to be left out of the tour but was named on a 30-man list on Saturday. However, the Reds decided to leave him out after the player reported for duty.
New captain Jordan Henderson will lead the Liverpool squad for this pre-season tour. Also in the squad are the club's latest signings Danny Ings, James Milner and Nathaniel Clyne.
Roberto Fermino, another new signing, and Philippe Coutinho have been given extended rest time after playing for the Brazil national team that reached the semi-finals at the Copa America.
The club's Italian striker Mario Balotelli also misses the tour because of the death of his father.
Leiva expected the tour to be an eye-opener for the new players.
“They will have an idea about what Liverpool is about," the Brazilian told the club’s website liverpoolfc.com.
“It just makes you realise how big the club is in terms of the amount of fans and anywhere in the world you go you get a good reception.”
Leiva also underlined the importance of using the pre-season campaign to help recent arrivals adapt quickly to their new surroundings.
Tickets for the match are 500-5,000 baht and available at 7-Eleven outlets.