Liverpool are set to partially open their renovated Anfield Road stand for crunch clash against Manchester United in December

• Plans were initially in place for the opening to take place ahead of first home tie 
• But an overly-optimistic schedule and change of contractors changed timeline 
• City-Liverpool is tough to referee… but our campaign is up and running – IAKO 

Liverpool will partially open the top tier of the renovated Anfield Road Stand for next month’s crunch clash with Manchester United, after playing all home games with a half-empty end so far this season.

The Reds were originally aiming to fully open the new-look top tier – which will eventually take the attendance at Anfield to 61,000 – ahead of the first home game of this season against Bournemouth.

But setbacks meant that date, which the club saw as ambitious, was not met. Further complications arose when contractor Buckingham Group went into administration and a new construction group were needed to complete the works.

Liverpool are now growing in confidence the new upper tier will be at half-capacity for the visit of United and the following three home matches over the Christmas and New Year period, with it fully opening at a later date.

The club will have to hold a test event to comply with council regulations that will need 3,000 people in the new tier. That will trial entry and exit requirements, plus fire alarm testing.

Liverpool released new photos of the almost-finished works two weeks ago ahead of a planned 2024 full opening

Fans will get a chance to experience a partially-completed stand during December’s home tie against Man United

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Mail Sport reported in November that the stand was expected to be fully complete in time for next year’s heavyweight clash between Liverpool and Manchester City on March 9. 

The two sides meet on Saturday at the Etihad in a match scheduled early on Saturday afternoon following a request from a local safety advisory group – which includes the Greater Manchester Police – due to concerns over crowd trouble. 

Both clubs have written to their supporters ahead of the weekend fixture to urge good behaviour, with Liverpool’s message referencing missile throwing, and Man City’s highlighting the illegality of tragedy chanting. 

Both messages have warned fans that action will be taken against those who found to have misbehaved. 

Liverpool have played in front of a half-empty stand since the start of their 2023-24 season

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