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Liverpool are drawing up contingency plans to play a home game away from Anfield if they find themselves facing a Europa League qualifier this summer.

Building work on the £120million new Main Stand remains on schedule but the Reds won’t be able to host matches until mid to late August.

As a result Anfield officials have already submitted a request to the Premier League to play their opening two league games of the 2016/17 campaign on their travels.

The home leg of a potential Europa League qualifier would also have to be moved. Liverpool are considering possible venues with Bolton’s Macron Stadium and Wigan’s DW Stadium the most likely options.

There is no prospect of Jurgen Klopp’s side playing at Goodison Park, while opening up Anfield with a heavily reduced capacity would be problematic. Both Bolton and Wigan would welcome the financial windfall of hosting the Reds.

Liverpool sit ninth in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s home clash with title-chasing Tottenham but they are only seven points adrift of fourth placed Manchester City with a game in hand.

A top-four finish or winning the Europa League would secure Champions League qualification and alleviate any fears of an early start to the next European campaign.

Fifth spot in the Premier League guarantees passage to the Europa League group stage but if Liverpool qualify for Europe by finishing sixth or seventh they face the prospect of entering at the third qualifying round. The first leg is scheduled to take place on July 28 with the second leg on August 4.

The new Main Stand will increase Anfield’s capacity to around 54,000 and Liverpool remain confident that the redeveloped ground will be ready as expected in August.

All the seating will be in place but parts of the new stand won’t be complete until later in the season with temporary dressing rooms for players and officials in the underground car park in operation until around Christmas.

Sixth place in the Premier League will be good enough for Liverpool to qualify for Europe if Capital One Cup winners Manchester City finish in the top five. Seventh place would also offer a European spot if either West Ham or Manchester United win the FA Cup and finish in the top six.

As well as forcing Liverpool to play a home game away from Anfield, a European qualifier would also be problematic in terms of the club’s pre-season tour plans.

The Reds are taking part in the International Champions Cup during a July training camp in California. They will face Chelsea in Pasadena on July 27 before taking on AC Milan in Santa Clara three days later.

They are also expected to play a third game on the East Coast of America before returning to Europe to complete their International Champions Cup commitments against Barcelona on August 6.

Klopp told the ECHO last week that they have already drawn up plans to fly a team home from the States if Liverpool are involved in a European tie on July 28 - less than 24 hours after the game against Chelsea.