MatchPre-season opponents lowdown: Athletic Club

The Reds will wrap up their pre-season schedule by facing Athletic twice, with game one at 5pm BST followed by a second fixture at 8pm BST.

Here, we take a closer look at the latest opposition for Arne Slot's side…

Founded: 1898, Bilbao

Nickname: Lehoiak (The Lions)

Ground: Estadio San Mames

League: La Liga (eight titles)

Head coach: Ernesto Valverde

Official games versus Liverpool: Four

Last meeting: Athletic Club 0-1 Liverpool, November 2, 1983 (European Cup)

Lowdown

Athletic Club are the fourth-most-successful club in La Liga history with eight titles to their name.

They have also won the Copa del Rey 24 times – trailing only Barcelona. In April 2024 they broke a 40-year run without a major trophy (though they had lifted the Supercopa in 2015 and 2021) by securing glory in the competition for the first time since 1984.

Athletic were one of the founding members of Spain's Primera Division and have never been relegated from the top tier since it came into existence in 1929.

Liverpool have played four competitive fixtures against them previously.

The first meeting was a two-legged Fairs Cup contest in 1968 that the Reds lost on a coin toss after each side won 2-1 at home.

Fifteen years later, they were paired together in the European Cup and Liverpool advanced en route to lifting the trophy that season thanks to a single Ian Rush goal at San Mames.

In 2024-25, Athletic head coach Ernesto Valverde, who is in his third stint in charge of the club, guided his team to a fourth-placed finish in La Liga.

They also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League before being beaten by Manchester United for a spot in the showpiece against eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur.

The visitors have played four pre-season fixtures ahead of their trip to Anfield, beating SD Ponferradina 1-0 before single-goal defeats by Deportivo Alaves, PSV Eindhoven and Racing Santander.

• Watch both Liverpool v Athletic Club matches LIVE on All Red Video - more details here