What will we learn from Liverpool's US tour?

Liverpool head out to the States this week for a pre-season tour that will show us exactly how the team is shaping up under Arne Slot.

Liverpool fans are set for their first real look at how their team is shaping up under Arne Slot when the pre-season tour of the United States gets under way this week.

The Dutchman has overseen two weeks of training as well as a behind-closed-doors friendly defeat to Preston so far, but fans are promised a greater insight into his methods across games in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Columbia.

So what, specifically, should supporters be looking for?

Here are five key questions about what is to come under the new manager that the Reds’ trip to the States should help answer.

What formation is it, then?

At his official unveiling earlier this month, Slot pushed back on the widely held belief that his Feyenoord side had operated in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Responding to the suggestion, he joked: “I’m curious who told you we played 4-2-3-1, maybe that one should go get his [coaching] licence. Or analyse a bit better!”

Slot was instead adamant that his teams use various shapes to get the ball through the thirds, including 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1. 

In theory, that level of fluidity in build-up sounds exciting, and it will be fascinating to see how exactly that works during the upcoming tour.

Quite how the players at the manager’s disposal fit into those various shapes will also be worthy of note.

Can returning loanees stake a claim?

Liverpool sources have attributed a quiet start to the transfer window to Slot’s desire to fully assess the squad he has inherited.

And that surely means he is giving players previously on the cusp of the first-team picture a chance to show that they deserve to feature this season.

Chief among them are the likes of Tyler Morton, Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho, who all enjoyed major success out on loan last term.

Each of those players is attracting interest from clubs keen to secure their services on either a temporary or permanent basis this summer, but could they in fact do a job for Liverpool in 2024-25?

How they perform in the upcoming friendlies should give us a better idea of how close they are to making a breakthrough.

Who is ready to kick on?

A key part of the new manager’s appeal when Liverpool were seeking a successor to Jurgen Klopp was a track record for improving his players.

And, while he has not had much time to do that just yet, perhaps we will see some early signs during the tour that some members of the squad are ready to go up a level this season.

Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are two good examples of players who, after showing flashes of brilliance in their debut campaigns, will hope to be more consistent this time around.

There is also surely more to come from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo, who were up and down during Klopp’s last season in charge.

As much as signings are also important, getting more from what is available will be a vital aspect of Slot’s role.

How different is it to Klopp?

Slot has gone to great lengths to insist that he is not ripping up the Klopp blueprint after being appointed to succeed the German.

But as much as there are clear similarities between the two managers’ approaches, it is the differences that will be most of interest to supporters.

Can Slot fix the penchant for starting games slowly that crept in during the latter part of his predecessor’s reign?

And will the Reds’ show greater care in the final third to ensure there is no repeat of last season, when they created the most xG in the Premier League by some distance but ended as the division’s third highest scorers?

Of course, there is also a chance that any contrast between the two men proves not to be for the better of the team.

What might the Ipswich line-up look like?

With the players who reached the latter stages of the European Championship and Copa America not expected to travel to the United States, Slot’s hands are somewhat tied in terms of his preparations for the first game of the season.

But the 45-year-old is surely going to provide several clues as to who will start at Ipswich on the opening day, particularly in the last friendly of the tour.

It would be a surprise if that meeting with Manchester United does not see the manager field a starting XI that is as close as possible to the one that will line up at Portman Road.

As such, we will surely know by then exactly what a Slot Liverpool team looks like, and who has won the battle for places - going into the early part of the season, at least.