4 days ago
25
Liverpool and Crystal Palace will pay tribute to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley.
This will be Liverpool’s first competitive game since the tragic events of last month, when the siblings passed away in northern Spain, although the Reds have honored Jota throughout the summer and ahead of every preseason game.
Wreaths were laid on the pitch by Phil Thompson and Jon Uriarte, Athletic Bilbao’s club president, ahead of Monday’s double-headed friendly at Anfield. Similar tributes are planned for this weekend by the FA, which has confirmed that wreaths will be placed on the pitch before Sunday’s game, while a period of silence will be held.
It comes a day after a delegation from Roma, including Claudio Ranieri and Paulo Dybala, paid tribute to Jota outside Anfield, and this week a third mural honoring the Portuguese was painted in Liverpool.
The Reds will also mark Jota’s devastating death next week ahead of the Premier League clash against Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will wear its new Adidas away kit for the first time on Sunday. The FA’s official media release describes the off-white shirt as "ecru." It will be worn along with black shorts.
The game will be broadcast by TNT Sports in the UK, and audiences in the United States can watch on ESPN.
The Community Shield will kick off at 3 pm local time; that's 10 am ET and 7 am PT.
Referee Chris Kavanagh will be in charge of proceedings in the capital, with VAR also in operation, as will goal-line technology, semi-automated offside technology.
Unusually, both teams will be able to make six substitutes, but name nine on the bench as is the case with Premier League games.
Should the game finish as a draw after 90 minutes, then it will go straight to penalties, bypassing extra-time.
Sunday is Liverpool’s first Community Shield since it beat Manchester City at the King Power Stadium in 2022 and the 25th time playing in the annual curtain-raiser.
Palace, in contrast, has never played in a Community Shield before.
Should the Eagles win on Sunday, Oliver Glasner would become the first Austrian to win the competition, while Arne Slot would be the first Dutch coach to lift the trophy if Liverpool triumphs.
The Reds will be without Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley for the encounter, while Eddie Nketiah, Cheick Doucoure, Caleb Kporha, and Matheus Franca are missing for Palace.
English (US) ·