“I hope you all enjoyed a good summer break, and I hope you are all looking forward to Sunday’s game as much as we are,” the boss writes in the matchday programme.
“This fixture, plus the games we have scheduled next week against Como, will be hugely beneficial for us as we start to look ahead to our first Premier League game, up at Newcastle, in a few weeks’ time.
“Our tour of the USA was a positive one, and also a really important introduction to the club for me and my staff.
“It was great to see the supporters in Chicago, in Nashville and in New York – a reminder of the size and appeal of the club, for sure – and we were able to get a lot of really good work in on the training pitch, which will benefit us a lot as the season progresses.
“Now we are home, it is time to step up our preparations further and continue the hard work we put in over in America.
“We now have virtually our entire squad together, which of course will be very important in the coming days and weeks. Victor Munoz, our new signing, joined us at AXA this week having been part of the Spain squad which won the FIFA World Cup last month, as did Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Alisson Becker.
“Alexis Mac Allister, the last of our World Cup players, will link up with us on Monday, also.