The FA Community shield match comes quicker-than-usual this season as the Premier League champions and the FA Cup champion looks forward to a condensed and busy campaign ahead. “The most intense, probably, we ever experience in our lives,” predicts Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool, who lifted the Premier League trophy last season, will match-up against Arsenal who triumphed over Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley.
The match will take place on Saturday afternoon, kicking off a new season and a new pursuit of silverware.
- Arsenal wins 14th FA Cup title with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s double
- Liverpool finally lifts Premier League trophy after 8 goal thriller with Chelsea
Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson earlier this week spoke about moving on from the triumphs of 2019/20 and focusing on what can be achieved in the future. But, with just a couple of weeks of training and a couple of friendlies under their belt, there is no doubt Liverpool will go into Saturday’s showpiece with their preparations far from complete and so is their opponent.
“I would be very surprised if this will be the best game we play this season,” Klopp said with a smile in his pre-match press conference. “But we should be ready to fight for a result because the opponent has a similar situation.”
Indeed, that limited preparation may be enough to see them past an Arsenal side also feeling their way back to full fitness – although, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang upfront following his back-to-back doubles at Wembley at the end of last season, the Gunners – who beat Liverpool after the restart in July – will provide a stern test.
More importantly, Klopp and Arteta would look to use this match to assess their players as they head into the Premier League fully in a fortnight.
Liverpool and Arsenal friendlies so far…
- MK Dons 1-4 Arsenal
- Liverpool 3-0 Stuttgart
- Red Bull Salzburg 2-2 Liverpool
This year, the women’s game will also be played at Wembley, with the match billed to kick off much earlier in the afternoon. It is the first time the Football Association has held back-to-back Community Shield matches and it will be the first time the women’s contest takes place at Wembley.
Team news
Liverpool’s centre-back Virgil van Dijk will be fit despite suffering a head injury in Tuesday’s friendly against Salzburg, but right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold may not feature due to a minor injury.
Captain Jordan Henderson, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and defender Joel Matip all remain sidelined and won’t play a part.
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno is back in training after a knee injury and could start, with defender William Saliba expected to make his debut.
Community Shield stats heading into the match (Backed by Opta)
- Arsenal and Liverpool will meet in the Community Shield final for a fourth time (previously in 1979, 1989 & 2002), with the Merseyside club winning the first two such encounters and the Gunners winning the most recent meeting in 2002 (1-0).
- Liverpool and Arsenal will meet at Wembley stadium for the first time since the 1989 Community Shield final in which Liverpool won 1-0 courtesy of a first-half Peter Beardsley strike.
- Liverpool’s Sadio Mané made his debut in English football against Arsenal in September 2014 (for Southampton) – since then, he has only scored more goals against Crystal Palace (9) in all competitions than against the Gunners (6).
- Since his Liverpool debut in August 2015, Roberto Firmino has both scored (8) and been directly involved (11 – 8 goals, 3 assists) in more goals against Arsenal in all competitions than against any other opponent.
- Excluding 2019 (Man City playing as ‘double’ winners), the winners of the FA Cup have beaten the league champions in four of the last five Community Shield matches, with Arsenal winning three of those (2014, 2015 and 2017).
- Arsenal have won seven of their last nine Community Shield appearances, including each of the last three in a row.
Prediction
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
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