Liverpool are set to play in front of Anfield’s biggest crowd for over 50 years against Manchester United.
The iconic ground could hold around 57,000 fans against rivals United on Sunday. That is thanks to the partial opening of the upper tier of the redeveloped Anfield Road Stand.
But the Reds are first waiting for a safety certificate to be granted by Liverpool City Council after Monday night’s test event, according to The Athletic. It would come as a huge boost to Jurgen Klopp’s side, who have had to play in front of a reduced 50,000 fans this season.
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The increased capacity will see the largest league attendance at Anfield for a Liverpool game since April 1973, when Bill Shankly’s side drew 0-0 with Leicester in front of 56,202. The overall record for a Liverpool match at the stadium will remain intact, however, with the 1952 FA Cup tie against Wolves drawing in a whopping 61,905 spectators.
Anfield’s upgrade is part of an £80million project to revamp the stadium. It was due to finish before the start of the 2023/24 season – but the process was halted by unforeseen delays as construction firm Buckingham Group went into administration in early September.
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The club hope that their new upper tier will be fully operational by the end of January. That would boost the total capacity to 61,000 for the remainder of the season.
Liverpool’s vice president of stadium operations Paul Cuttill said: “It’s been really challenging. When what happened to Buckingham happened, it changed the course of the programme.
"We wanted to make sure we kept as many contractors on board as possible who were working with Buckingham previously, and we brought them back in to get this delivered.
“The priority was always to get fans into the upper tier safely and as soon as possible. We’ve got there through a lot of hard work and sheer persistence.”
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