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Liverpool aim to spread the game

London - Liverpool will cover most kilometres of any Premier League club in pre-season preparation, closely followed by Manchester City, according to British media reports on Sunday.

The days of gentle friendly matches close to home are long gone for England's biggest clubs, keen to exploit commercial possibilities in markets like Asia, Australasia and North America.

Series of matches

Liverpool will play in Thailand, Australia, Malaysia and Finland between July 14 and August 1.

That means flying more than 39 000km, according to the Sun on Sunday newspaper, which estimates Manchester City's two matches in Melbourne will take them more than 34 000km.

Champions Chelsea have again chosen the United States for a series of matches in July before returning home in time for the traditional Community Shield match at Wembley against FA Cup winners Arsenal on August 2.

Manchester United also visit the U.S., playing in Seattle, San Jose, Berkeley and Chicago.

Summer break

The biennial Barclays Asia Trophy starting on July 15 takes place in Singapore for the first time and features Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City, plus a Singapore XI.

But West Ham United, under new manager Slaven Bilic, will be the Premier League team with the shortest summer break.

They face a qualifying tie in the Europa League as early as July 2, the draw for which will be made on Monday.

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