Liverpool’s expansion of the Anfield Road End has experienced one set back after another, but the club maintains the hope that 61,000 supporters will be in attendance against Everton.
The new Anfield Road End has operated at limited capacity for the first two games of the season, and will continue to do so for the short term.
The top tier of the new stand will remain shut for the visits of West Ham, Leicester City and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, keeping attendances in the region of 50,000.
But the hope is that figure will rise for the Merseyside derby on October 21, with The Times‘ Paul Joyce stating that Liverpool hope to host “a 61,000 capacity crowd” against Everton.
“The club is now working towards the visit of Everton to have the top and lower tiers of the stand open for supporters,” Joyce adds, with Rayner Rowen Construction, plus other contractors, hard at work.
It would be a welcome sight to see both tiers hosting supporters, with it a long time coming after Jurgen Klopp first broke ground at the site in September 2021.
The club was forced to find a new contractor to finish the Anfield Road stand after work stopped in August as Buckingham Group filed for administration.
It has been estimated that Liverpool are losing in the region of £750,000 per match with only the lower tier open, that is nearly £4 million across the first five home matches of the season.
To have the ground at capacity for the visit of Everton, the sixth home game, would be a significant boost, but there is plenty of work to do between now and then – with just over 30 days until the derby.
If the optimistic target can be reached remains to be seen so, in the meantime, we will have to continue to patiently wait.
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