It is pre-season time for European clubs and the time when they try to get their players back to fitness. Hence, they play matches at various venues. Similarly, one of the giants of English football, Liverpool, are presently in Hong Kong to compete in the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Four English teams -- Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and West Brom -- will compete in the Asian region. Only four matches are going to be played in total. Liverpool will face Crystal Palace and Leicester City vs West Brom match will act as the opener on Wednesday.
The respective winner of the match will play in the final, while the losing teams are set for a third and fourth place playoff on Saturday. Neither of the teams might be thinking about the trophy too much, but these four teams will hope to get into the rhythm and prepare for English Premier League, which will start next month.
Liverpool have played two pre-season matches, and have won one and drawn one. That should not be a matter of concern as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will look to see his team improve in each and every match they play until the end of the pre-season.
Liverpool have taken a strong team to Hong Kong, which includes stars such as Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and new signings such as Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke. There is plenty of talent in this group, and Klopp will be looking for some good combinations from his team against Palace. However, Sadio Mane has still not travelled with the team.
There were plenty of encouraging signs when the likes of Coutinho, Salah and Firmino linked well against Wigan. It is this trio, which Klopp will want to see them shine heading up to the new season.
As for Palace, there is some major reshuffle, which has gone for the team, and most importantly, Frank De Boer is the new manager. He has a good footballing brain, and the new gaffer will hope to see his team do well against Liverpool. It will give his team further confidence to perform in the Premier League.
Boer's only signing, Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan to Palace, has also travelled with the squad. The likes of Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke will look to stun Liverpool in Hong Kong.
Where to watch Premier League Asia Trophy
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace match is scheduled for 8.30 pm local time, 1.30 pm BST, 6 pm IST. Here are the live Tv and streaming options.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1. Live Streaming: Sky Sports Go.
India: Star Sports Select1/HD.
Phillipines: BeIN Sports 1
Africa: SuperSports3
