Liverpool hope to open half of Anfield Road upper tier in December

Liverpool plan to partially open the upper tier of their new Anfield Road stand when they face Manchester United game on 17 December.

The club is conducting an £80m upgrade to lift capacity by 7,000 to 61,000.

Its opening was delayed until 2024 after Liverpool changed contractors to Rayner Rowen Group following Buckingham Group's fall into administration.

The Reds believe about half of the upper tier will be open for the United fixture, pending safety approval.

That would also be the case for games against West Ham, Arsenal and Newcastle United later in December.

"The upper tier of the new stand will be partially open for the upcoming fixture against Manchester United on 17 December, with several thousand general admission seats expected to be available to supporters," reads a Liverpool statement.

"This is subject to an internal emergency conditions test managed in conjunction with Liverpool City Council and a public test event, which is expected to take place during week commencing 11 December.

"This latest development is earlier than previously expected, following Buckingham Group entering administration in September, and is testimony to the commitment and hard work of everybody connected with this complex and ambitious build project.

"There is still more work to be completed before the stand can be fully operational and able to welcome 61,000 fans to Anfield on a matchday."

The work had initially been scheduled for completion before the start of the 2023-24 season.

But only the lower tier of the stand has been open by supporters so far this season, with the ground's capacity reduced to 50,000.