Liverpool vs Leeds prediction 02.08.2026 | Club Friendly

Liverpool's pre-season has been positively shaped under Iraola. The 4-2 win over Sunderland showcased their attacking potential, with several young players impressing alongside established first-team members. 

The squad is gradually welcoming back players following the FIFA World Cup, although not everyone is yet fully integrated. Joe Gomez suffered an early knock against Sunderland and is expected to miss this fixture, while defenders Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Stefan Bajčetić remain unavailable through injury. Hugo Ekitiké is also sidelined with injury.

On the positive side, several senior internationals, including Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz, have returned to training and could feature depending on their fitness levels.

Leeds continue their preparations after securing promotion back to the Premier League. Daniel Farke's side have shown encouraging attacking signs during pre-season, including entertaining fixtures in the United States - a 3-2 loss to Wrexham being one of them. Their recent matches have produced goals at both ends, suggesting Leeds are willing to play expansive football despite facing stronger opposition.

The Whites have relatively few injury concerns. Midfielder Ilia Gruev remains unavailable, but the majority of the first-team squad is expected to be fit. Farke is likely to continue rotating his squad to build fitness while giving valuable minutes to new arrivals and younger players.