Premier League champions Liverpool will kick off the 2020/21 campaign Saturday in the Community Shield against Arsenal at Wembley. Saturday’s meeting will be the fourth all-time in the Community Shield between the two big clubs, and first since 2002.
The Reds will be playing in the match for the second-straight season after losing to Manchester City in penalties a season ago. Liverpool will be seeking their 16th Community Shield, but first since 2006.
Community Shield FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, August 29, 11:30am ET, Wembley Stadium, London
Arsenal starting XI prediction: go to this link
Arsenal FC Team News: go to this link
Odds: Liverpool -148, Arsenal +375, Draw into shootout +310
Takeaways from Mikel Arteta’s Press Conference today: go to this link
It will be a strong tune-up for Jurgen Klopp’s squad in a fixture that historically has seen lots of goals, including a 5-5 meeting in last year’s League Cup.
Each team won on their home ground during the PL season last year, with Arsenal defeating Liverpool 2-1 in July, ending Liverpool’s 10-match unbeaten run against the Gunners. Liverpool will be without some of their key regulars in the match.
Captain Jordan Henderson suffered a knee injury in July at Brighton and will not resume training until next week as he aims to be ready for the Premier League opener against Leeds United. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also set to miss the clash with his former club after suffering an injury during Liverpool’s training camp in Austria, and will miss the rest of the pre-season.
Those injuries leave Liverpool with just four experienced midfielders for Saturday, and will most likely give starts to Naby Keita, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum.
The other big missing piece for the PL champions will be Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has missed all of Liverpool’s training so far with a minor issue. Neco Williams has started the prior two friendlies in his place and has performed well, and will start again on Saturday.
Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson are all fit and will resume their normal defensive roles against a potent Arsenal attack.
Up front, the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah all look ready to go for Saturday. Divock Origi has yet to feature for Liverpool in the pre-season but Rhian Brewster has looked sharp off the bench, scoring three goals in the two games against Stuttgart and RB Salzburg.
Predicted Liverpool Line-up (4-3-3)
Alisson, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Neco Williams, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane.