Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Liverpool get their pre-season tour of the United States underway with a match against Borussia Dortmund in Charlotte, North Carolina!

Both teams are unbeaten in pre-season so far as they gear up for the 2018-19 campaign, when Jurgen Klopp - who faces his former club tonight - and new Dortmund boss Lucien Favre will be hopeful of an improved showing on the domestic stage.

We will have a close look at both clubs a little later, but first let's check out the team news...

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Karius; Clyne, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson; Fabinho, Lallana, Camacho; Markovic, Jones, Origi

LIVERPOOL SUBS: Kelleher, Grabara, Milner, Keita, Gomez, Sturridge, Klavan, Moreno, Solanke, Phillips, Ojo, Woodburn

BORUSSIA DORTMUND STARTING XI: Hitz; Zagadou, Diallo, Sancho, Sahin, Toljan, Wolf, Dahoud, Philipp, Boadu, Dieckmann

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, it is always likely to be a mixed bag when it comes to pre-season matches, particularly with so many players enjoying extended breaks after the World Cup, and it is no surprise that so many star names are missing for both teams tonight.

The most notable absentees for Liverpool are Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who are both back in training and with the squad out in the USA having been eliminated from the World Cup in the group stages. However, it was confirmed earlier today that neither would feature in this match as they look to build themselves back up to full fitness.

Marko Grujic is in the same boat as those two, but all three will be expected to feature at some point during this International Champions Cup tour.

While that trio - in addition to the likes of Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Alisson Becker, Simon Mignolet and Trent Alexander-Arnold - are all out following appearances at the World Cup this summer, there are still plenty of big names in that Liverpool squad.

Chief among them is Virgil van Dijk - the world's most expensive defender - as he returns after missing out on a start against Blackburn last time out. Joel Matip joins him at the heart of the defence, and the fit-again centre-back has a good chance to put his name forward for a regular starting spot in pre-season, with Lovren expected to miss the start of the campaign having helped Croatia to the World Cup final.

Another player who will be keen to push their name forward is Nathaniel Clyne, who missed the vast majority of last season and saw Trent Alexander-Arnold thrive in his absence - to the point where Clyne faces a big ask to get his place back in the side.

Indeed, there are a number of fringe players who will want to impress tonight, and the pressure is really on Loris Karius following the world-record signing of Alisson. We all know about his mistakes in the Champions League final, and he made another one in a pre-season clash with Tranmere earlier this month to increase the speculation over his place in the side.

It certainly looks as though he will be playing second fiddle to Alisson this season.

Summer signing Fabinho makes another appearance in midfield alongside Lallana and Camacho, but fellow new arrival Naby Keita has to make do with a place on the bench from the start this evening.

Further forward there is another chance for Lazar Markovic - who scored against Blackburn last time out - and Divock Origi, who spent last season out on loan and may have limited time to show Klopp what he can do again before Firmino returns from his extended break.

As for Dortmund, they are missing the likes of Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Christian Pulisic from their starting lineup, although all of them are with the squad on the tour and it would be a surprise if we didn't see at least two of them at some point tonight.

Gotze was omitted from Germany's ill-fated World Cup squad but scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the early hours of yesterday morning, while Reus - who scored and assisted in the last meeting between these two sides - has rejoined the squad having been part of that German party in Russia.

Christian Pulisic will be particularly keen to play as much as possible during this International Champions Cup tour, having been born in America and chosen to play for them at international level.

The highly-rated 19-year-old has been linked with a move to Liverpool in recent days - and manager Jurgen Klopp has done little to quell those rumours - but he does not feature from the start for Dortmund this evening.

There are three new faces in this Borussia Dortmund side tonight, including goalkeeper Marwin Hitz who looks like being the retired Roman Wiedenfeller's replacement and a potential starter for Dortmund next season.

New boss Lucien Favre has further bolstered his defensive options with the £25m signing of Abdou Diallo, who starts tonight, with Marius Wolf completes the trio of new signings for the Bundesliga outfit.

There is a particularly familiar face for Liverpool in the form of Nuri Sahin, who spent a short stint at Anfield a few years ago, while there will be plenty of interested eyes looking at London-born Jadon Sancho tonight too.

Only two players in this Dortmund side also started against Manchester City in the first match of their American tour, with Hitz and Zagadou the men to keep their places.

While Dortmund have had a game to bed in already in America, for Liverpool this is their first match of the International Champions Cup tour, and having only arrived on Saturday morning they may well be still accustoming to jet lag tonight.

The Reds will play three games in the United States, but this is the only one which comes against a foreign team. Indeed, Liverpool's next two matches in the ICC both come against fellow top-four contenders from Manchester, with City first up in New Jersey on Thursday before facing bitter rivals United in Michigan next Saturday.

The ICC certainly represents a step up in quality for Liverpool from what they have faced in pre-season so far, although at this stage Jurgen Klopp will no doubt be stressing that the performance and fitness levels are of more importance than the result for these games.

After taking on Manchester City and Manchester United Liverpool will then face an Italian double-header, taking on Serie A runners-up Napoli in Dublin and then Torino at Anfield in their final pre-season contest.

Klopp's side are unbeaten in their four pre-season games thus far, but as I mentioned, they will take a significant step up in quality from now on. Liverpool's previous summer outings have all come against lower-league teams, winning three of those and drawing one.

Things could not have got off to a much better start with Liverpool thrashing Chester 7-0 in their opening game, but since then they have been a little less convincing, including a narrow 3-2 triumph over Tranmere Rovers when they raced into a 3-0 lead but then allowed their Merseyside neighbours back into the game with a poor second-half performance.

A goalless draw with Bury followed after that, with Liverpool unable to find a breakthrough during a fairly toothless and uninspiring performance, before returning to winning ways against newly-promoted Blackburn Rovers last time out.

Once again it took Liverpool a while to get going, though, and it wasn't until the second-half XI came on that they started to pull away from Blackburn, with Markovic and Sturridge getting the goals in a 2-0 victory at Ewood Park.

As Klopp mentioned in his press conference ahead of this match, though - Liverpool do not need to be at their best now; they need to be at their best starting from August 12 when their Premier League campaign gets underway.

The Reds will host West Ham United in their opening game of the season and have been handed a relatively kind start on paper, facing Crystal Palace, Brighton and Leicester before their first top-six battle against Tottenham Hotspur in their fifth game of the campaign.

Much is expected of Liverpool this season, and they may well be going into the campaign with the highest level of optimism amongst supporters since they last won the top-flight title way back in 1990.

The Reds have, of course, come close to ending that drought on a couple of occasions since then, but their business this summer - coupled with some of the football they were playing last season - has led many to believe that they could be genuine title challengers this time around.

The biggest hurdle to overcome is obviously Manchester City, though, and if the reigning champions can match the level of their performances from last season then it is hard to see anyone living with them once again.

Liverpool only finished fourth in the Premier League last season - a full 25 points adrift of Manchester City - but they were the second-highest scorers in the division and were electrifying on their way to the final of the Champions League.

Add to that the fact that they have strengthened in areas they needed too - most notably in goal with the world-record signing of Alisson, but also in midfield with Fabinho, Keita and Shaqiri - and it looks like the most rounded squad Liverpool have had for a long time.

Klopp is, of course, yet to win a trophy as Liverpool boss, but he had no such trouble at Borussia Dortmund and he is expected to receive a warm reception from the travelling German fans this evening following his seven-year stint at the club.

During that time Klopp led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles - against the might of Bayern Munich - in addition to a DFB-Pokal crown and the final o the Champions League, although his side were beaten by Bayern on that occasion.

A string of successors have failed to match that success from Klopp, and the latest of those to try is Lucien Favre, who took over earlier this summer following a spell at Nice.

He takes over a Dortmund team no longer considered the main threat to Bayern Munich's dominance, having only finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season, scraping into the Champions League knockout rounds by virtue of goal difference ahead of Bayer Leverkusen.

It was a thrilling race for the top four down to the very end in the Bundesliga last season, with Hoffenheim, Dortmund and Leverkusen all finishing level on 55 points, and RB Leipzig only two points further back.

Hoffenheim and Dortmund were the fortunate two to get into the Champions League places on goal difference, but they were still both 29 points adrift of champions Bayern Munich and eight away from second-placed Schalke 04, so if they have ambitions to get back to the top of German football this season then they will need to bridge a sizeable gap.

Dortmund will begin the new Bundesliga season against one of their top-four rivals RB Leipzig, but before that they face a few more pre-season games and a DFB-Pokal clash against second-tier side Greuther Furth.

This is Dortmund's second game of the International Champions Cup, and their first came less than 48 hours ago when they edged past Manchester City 1-0 in Chicago courtesy of Mario Gotze's first-half penalty. Their third and final game of the tour comes against Benfica in Pennsylvania on Thursday.

Like Liverpool, Dortmund are also unbeaten in four pre-season games so far, although they have been held twice - including an eight-goal thriller in their opening match of the summer when they needed two goals in the final 13 minutes to rescue a 4-4 draw with third-tier side Zwickau.

Favre's side then drew 1-1 with Los Angeles FC courtesy of another late strike - this time from Max Philipp - before winning their two most recent games against Austria Vienna and a youthful Man City side.

After the match against Benfica on Thursday Dortmund still have three more pre-season games planned against top-fight European teams, starting with Rennes and then moving on to Italian duo Napoli and Lazio.

Similarly to Liverpool, Dortmund are ensuring that they do play some high-class opposition before the new campaign as they look to improve on their performances last season. I have already mentioned their fourth-placed Bundesliga finish, but they were also knocked out in the group stages of the Champions League - having been drawn in a group alongside Spurs and Real Madrid - the last 16 of the Europa League and the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal.

Dortmund have spent almost £50m in a bid to improve those disappointing results from last season, with their biggest summer signing being Abdou Diallo's £25m arrival. The highly-rated Thomas Delaney has also joined, but he will not feature tonight.

The German outfit have also lost a few notable players too - and a few of them to the Premier League, with Sokratis joining Arsenal, Yarmolenko moving to West Ham and Durm going to Huddersfield. Add to that the departure of Gonzalo Castro to Stuttgart and retirement of Weidenfeller and there has been a fairly sizeable change at Dortmund this summer - not to mention the new manager too!

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Pre-season games are notoriously difficult to call, and we will likely see changes en masse at half time tonight, which makes it even harder to pick a winner. It really is a stab in the dark, but we're going to side with Liverpool to pick up a narrow victory.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Liverpool 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

These two sides have met on five previous occasions, and you have to go all the way back to 1966 for Dortmund's only victory over Liverpool in their first ever meeting.

That was a notable triumph, though, with the Germans running out 2-1 victors in the Cup Winners' Cup final, when Roger Hunt got Liverpool's only goal.

Since then Liverpool have won two and drawn two, with both victories coming at Anfield. The most recent of those will not be forgotten in a hurry either, with Liverpool coming from behind to win 4-3 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Europa League.

Dortmund scored twice in the opening 10 minutes that night and looked certain to progress when they led 3-1 after an hour, but Liverpool launched a stirring comeback which was eventually capped off by Dejan Lovren's last-gasp headed winner.

Aside from that, these two sides have also met in the 2001-02 Champions League group stages, when they played out a goalless draw in Germany before Liverpool won 2-0 at Anfield courtesy of goals from Vladimir Smicer and Stephen Wright.

They also faced off in the first leg of that Europa League quarter-final, of course, when Mats Hummels cancelled out Divock Origi's opener at the Westfalenstadion.

Right, it's almost time for kickoff in Charlotte! Let's have a quick reminder of the team news before we get started...

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Karius; Clyne, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson; Fabinho, Lallana, Camacho; Markovic, Jones, Origi

BORUSSIA DORTMUND STARTING XI: Hitz; Zagadou, Diallo, Sancho, Sahin, Toljan, Wolf, Dahoud, Philipp, Boadu, Dieckmann

KICKOFF:  Borussia Dortmund get us underway in Charlotte, with You'll Never Walk Alone still ringing around the stadium.

Good passing move from Dortmund as they come forward for the first time tonight. A series a slick one-touch passes makes space down the right flank, but the subsequent low cross into the middle is too close to Karius.

CHANCE!  This has to go down as a chance, despite being all of 45 yards out as Karius almost produces another howler! He does well to sweep up a ball forward, coming out of his area but then giving the ball straight to Philipp.

Philipp immediately looks to go for goal with Karius way out of position, but he doesn't connect properly with his effort and it bobbles safely wide.

Clyne tries to release Lallana down the right flank, but his pass has just too much on it and it runs behind for a goal kick. Liverpool have started fairly brightly here, though.

Almost a chance for Liverpool are they produce a good passing move to break into the Dortmund box, but the layoff to Lallana isn't quite good enough and the opportunity breaks down.

Lovely play from Sahin as he skips away from Fabinho and then clips a ball out to Wolf on the right. Wolf puts his cross into the middle, but it is too far in front of his teammates and a good attacking platform goes begging.

Dortmund are enjoying a good spell of possession at the moment, knocking the ball around inside the Liverpool half and preventing the Reds from getting any sort of attacking momentum going.

More slick passing from Dortmund almost releases Philipp in behind, but Van Dijk gets a foot to the ball and pokes it back to Karius, who picks it up but is not punished for a back-pass.

Dortmund have grown into the first half and it is the German side who are controlling the lion's share of possession at the moment. Liverpool started brightly but have just begun to fade in the last five minutes or so.

Clyne reads a clearance well to pick off the pass inside the Dortmund half, but he cannot control his pass and puts it straight out of play.

The first strains of Mohamed Salah's name ring around the Bank of America Stadium as the Stateside fans hail 'the Egyptian king'. Salah is sat with the other Liverpool players on the bench tonight, even though he will not play.

Origi is shrugged off the ball too easily and Sahin carries it forward into a dangerous area, but Lallana is tracking back and gets a good foot in. That only takes the ball to Wolf, but he cannot make anything of it on the edge of the box.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Liverpool make a change as Joe Gomez replaces Matip, who has had to leave the pitch with what looks like a thigh injury.

No much to report from the first quarter of this game, in truth. The best chance we have seen came from 45 yards out and, other than that, the only real talking point is an injury to Matip.

GOAL!  LIVERPOOL 1-0 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (VIRGIL VAN DIJK)

It is a goal as simple as you like for Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk, who is left with a free header from six yards to give his side the lead!

It is really poor defending from Dortmund, who allow Liverpool to take a short corner and then don't close Robertson in time before he can get his cross away. His delivery is right onto the forehead of Van Dijk, who is completely unmarked to rise and plant his header past the keeper.

He was never missing from there!

A drinks break follows that goal, which may give Dortmund a chance to gather themselves again following that opener. It was a really poor one for them to concede, particularly from Liverpool's first chance of any note.

Lallana goes sliding in on Boadu and arrives long after the ball has gone. In a competitive match that would probably be a yellow card, but he escapes with just a warning this time.

Liverpool have improved since that opening goal and it is they who are now putting the pressure on and seeing more of the ball inside the opposition half.

Good break from Liverpool as Markovic and Jones both exchange passes with Robertson, who bursts down the left flank before seeing his low cross turned behind for a corner.

Concern for Liverpool here as Jones finds himself on the end of Toljan's challenge, leaving him limping and holding his ankle. It looks as though he will be able to continue, though.

Camacho shows good pace down the right flank and wraps his foot around the ball to send another dangerous cross into the middle which Dortmund just about scramble away before it can reach Origi.

Just over five minutes remaining in this first half now, and that probably means five minutes before we see a number of changes. Can either side produce a flurry before the interval?

Dortmund make their first threatening burst forward in quite a while as Dahoud dribbles forward before playing the ball out right, but Karius is there to cut out the resulting cross.

Lallana tries to drop a long pass over the defence for Origi, who watches it all the way over his shoulder but cannot get on the end of it as Hitz collects the ball.

Dortmund give the ball away cheaply on the halfway line and Origi immediately looks to drive at the defence, carrying the ball forward before giving it to Markovic. Markovic tries to sneak it back through to the Belgian, but the attack breaks down.

There will be a minimum of two minutes added time at the end of this first half.

HALF TIME:  LIVERPOOL 1-0 BORUSSIA DORTMUND

The first half comes to an end in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it is Liverpool who go into the break ahead against Borussia Dortmund.

It hasn't been a classic, in truth, with only one shot on target, and that provide the only goal of the game so far. Both sides have been playing at far below their best - as was expected from a pre-season clash - but the game is still there for either to win it.

Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal of the game so far, and it was as easy as you like for the Dutchman as he was left completely unmarked inside the area to plant a firm header past the keeper.

Dortmund's defending from non-existent, allowing Liverpool to take a short corner to Robertson and then allowing Robertson to swing his cross into the box. Van Dijk was then left free from around six yards out to put his header home with minimum fuss.

Aside from that, there really has been very little to talk about. the only other hint of a chance came from 45 yards in the opening exchanges, when Karius was fortunate to get away with another error.

The German came a long way out of his area to clear the ball, but he only succeeding in giving it straight to Philipp, whose effort bobbled wide of the target when he probably should have done better considering the goal was gaping.

Aside from those two pieces of goalmouth action, the biggest talking point of the half saw Joel Matip limp off with an injury and be replaced by Joe Gomez.

I expect a lot more changes to come at half time now!

KICKOFF:  Liverpool get us back underway for the second half in Charlotte, and both sides have made a host of changes. It looks like two different XIs out there.

Right, let's try to get to the bottom of those changes. I will give you the XIs as they stand in a moment, but it looks as though Zagadou is the only outfield player to keep his place for Dortmund, and only a handful of Liverpool players remain on the pitch from the first half too.

Brilliant footwork from Sturridge down the left channel as he lines up his man, beats him once, beats him again and then drills a cross into the middle. Keita is coming in, but the ball is cut out before it can reach the young midfielder.

LIVERPOOL SECOND-HALF XI: Karius; Clyne, Klavan, Gomez, Moreno; Milner, Keita, Woodburn; Ojo, Sturridge, Solanke

The headlines from Borussia Dortmund's changes, meanwhile, are that Christian Pulisic and Mario Gotze have both come on for this second half. Zagadou and Hitz are the only players still on from the first half.

CLOSE!  Liverpool come pouring forward with Ojo racing down the right before seeing his cross fly over the heads of everyone in the middle.

Liverpool keep the pressure on, though, and Milner eventually lines up an effort which curls narrowly over the crossbar from 30 yards out. Not a bad effort at all from the on-pitch skipper!

Liverpool are controlling the possession at the moment and seem to have a decent grip on this game, despite Dortmund bringing on some of their big guns at half time. The raft of changes do not appear to have damaged the rhythm of the game much - indeed, if anything they have improved it.

SHOT! Sturridge collects the ball inside the Dortmund half and is not closed down so chooses to go for goal from around 25 yards out. However, he drags his effort and it ends up a few yards wide of the Dortmund goal.

CHANCE!  Big chance for Solanke to double Liverpool's lead as once again Dortmund are caught out from a short corner. This one ends up with Milner reaching the byline down the left and standing his cross into the middle for Solanke, who climbs above his marker.

It looks certain that he will score, with the keeper out of the equation, but Solanke's header drops just past the far post.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Another change for Liverpool here as Nathaniel Phillips replaces Clyne.

OFF THE BAR!  Liverpool are inches away from a second goal here, but somehow the ball stays out!

Woodburn steals possession in a dangerous area and that allows Sturridge to lay the ball through for Ojo, who has time, space and only the keeper to beat. His finish is really poor as he hits it straight down the middle, but Hitz has guessed and only manages to get his foot to the ball, sending it bouncing up and against the crossbar.

Keita is following in, but the ball is taken away from his head by a fine last-ditch clearance.

PENALTY!  Dortmund have a penalty as Pulisic breaks into the box before running into Klavan and going down!

GOAL!  LIVERPOOL 1-1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (CHRISTIAN PULISIC, PENALTY)

Dortmund have their equaliser moments after escaping a big scare at the other end, with Pulisic putting his penalty straight down the middle as Karius goes to his right.

The award of the spot kick is a little controversial; Pulisic showed good footwork to dance his way into the box, but Klavan could not have gone anywhere else and Pulisic ran into the Liverpool defender, rather than Klavan actually making a challenge.

Nevertheless, the referee points at the penalty spot and Pulisic dusts himself off to level things up.

This second half has been significantly more entertaining than the first, and we could be in for a decent final 20 minutes or so now as both teams push on for a winner.

Another drinks break for the players as they get ready for the final 20 minutes of this pre-season match. In the meantime, Sadio Mane tries to play keepy-uppies with a ballboy, who suddenly gets all shy.

We're back underway once again!

Concern for Liverpool here as Sturridge stays down inside the Dortmund half, which is always even more concerning when it is a player with Sturridge's track record of injuries.

SAVE!  Half a chance for Liverpool to regain the lead as they refuse to put the ball out of play for Sturridge and instead break in down the left channel through Keita. Dortmund can only clear his cross as far as Woodburn, who hits a first-time effort on the turn straight at the keeper.

Moreno almost breaks in down the left channel, but with Sturridge in the middle he cannot make the most of the promising position and the ball ends up in the arms of the keeper.

Ojo slides in from behind on Burnic, who stays down and will require some treatment here. He doesn't look too comfortable at all, and Dortmund will not want to take any unnecessary risks.

Good work from Keita down the left as he skips past his marker on the byline before winning a corner when it didn't look as though there was much on at all. Dortmund deal with the set piece this time, though.

The referee has made a couple of unpopular decisions in quick succession here, giving two fouls against Liverpool players - the latest of which sees Keita bring down Pulisic. It is very much a pro-Liverpool crowd in here.

Liverpool are the team that look most likely to get a winner in these closing stages, but if they don't then it will be penalties at the Bank of America Stadium.

CHANCE!  Another corner creates a chance for Liverpool as Gomez meets Milner's delivery, but he can't get a clean header on it and Hitz plucks the ball out of the air easily.

Just two minutes remaining now, and it looks increasingly like we will be in line for penalties here!

GOAL!  LIVERPOOL 1-2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (CHRISTIAN PULISIC)

It looks like I spoke too soon! Pulisic completes Dortmund's turnaround with what will surely be the winner, putting a clinical finish to a sweeping counter-attack!

Schmelzer led the charge with a powerful run down the left flank before squaring the ball inside for Pulisic, who picked out the bottom corner to leave Karius helpless. A brace for the American-born attacker!

There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.

GOAL!  LIVERPOOL 1-3 BORUSSIA DORTMUND (JACOB BRUUN LARSEN)

Dortmund have a third in stoppage time, and while Larsen gets his name on the scoresheet it is Pulisic who is the creator with a mazy run down the right flank.

The winger cuts inside and gets his shot off, and Karius can only palm the ball into the path of Larsen, who makes no mistake with the rebound. Another mistake from the Liverpool keeper.

FULL TIME:  LIVERPOOL 1-3 BORUSSIA DORTMUND

What a turnaround that was from Borussia Dortmund, even if the final scoreline is a little harsh on Liverpool. Christian Pulisic was the difference in the end, scoring twice and assisting the other as Dortmund come from a goal down to beat Liverpool 3-1 in North Carolina.

Virgil van Dijk had given the Reds the lead in an otherwise uneventful first half, but Pulisic levelled things up with a controversial penalty shortly after the hour mark. The rumoured Liverpool target then scored a second in the 89th minute to give his side the lead, before forcing a save from Karius in stoppage time which gifted Larsen a simple finish from the rebound.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Borussia Dortmund come from behind to beat Liverpool in Charlotte. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to check back in for plenty more pre-season action over the coming weeks!

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!