Liverpool have reportedly set a new target date for the expanded Anfield Road Stand to open to its full capacity.
According to the Daily Mail, the club are hopeful of being able to have that end of the stadium fully operational by the end of February, which’d then allow 61,000 fans to attend matches at the venue.
LFC intend to communicate an official update on the next developments over the coming fortnight, having had to push back the original target of a full opening towards the end of this month due to having two domestic cup games at home, on top of league games at opposite ends of January.
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The partial reopening of the Anfield Road Stand for the Manchester United game in mid-December was a big step forward after going nearly half the season with that portion of the stadium operating at a significantly reduced capacity.
Once it fully opens – hopefully within the next month – that should have an even greater impact on Liverpool psychologically, all the more so now that it’ll allow for more fans to get to matches before the Jurgen Klopp reaches its conclusion in May.
The delays to the project, owing largely to the demise of original contractors Buckingham Group, have been very frustrating to supporters, with the club needing to manage the ticketing situation in increments as construction work developed gradually.
It should help that, as the calendar currently stands, the Reds have only one fully scheduled home game in February (Burnley on the 10th), with the Luton fixture to be moved because of a clash with the Carabao Cup final, and a date yet to be fixed for the FA Cup fifth round tie against Watford or Southampton.
If Anfield can accommodate 61,000 fans by the time Manchester City come to visit on the weekend of 9/10 March, that could be a spine-tingling occasion for what may well be the final chapter in the epic Klopp v Guardiola rivalry of modern times.