Premier League champions Liverpool take on FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield on Sunday afternoon, with plenty of intriguing talking points around both sides heading into the season's curtain raiser at Wembley…
Can Slot get the champions' balance right?
One thing that jumped out on Liverpool's pre-season tour of Asia and will have worried head coach Arne Slot was just how vulnerable the Premier League champions were to pacy breaks by their opponents.
AC Milan destroyed the Reds and their albeit makeshift back line with three counter-attacking goals in a 4-2 win in Hong Kong, while even Yokohama F. Marinos caused Slot's side issues on the counter.
Slot is still employing the same 4-3-3 formation that saw Liverpool crowned champions last season, however, newly-signed full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong look set for more attacking roles than Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Dutchman's debut campaign at Anfield.
Given Germany playmaker Florian Wirtz is also in line to be handed a license to roam as the No 10, Ryan Gravenberch's position as the Reds' holding midfielder becomes even more important, with last season's Young Player of the Year likely to be required to help put out plenty of fires in front of the back four.
In fact, Sunday should prove the perfect test of whether Slot has got his team's balance right given just how often, and easily, Palace were able to hurt Man City in this fashion in May's FA Cup final.
Richard Morgan
Guehi in the Wembley shop window?
Liverpool will travel down south this weekend with questions over whether they, despite having already splashed out almost £300m on new players this summer, still need to enter the transfer market again in order to bring in a defender.
The Reds have injury worries over defenders Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley, who are both in a race against time to feature on Sunday, while Jarell Quansah has joined Bayer Leverkusen in a £35m deal.
That meant the Liverpool boss being forced to utilise the likes of left-back Robertson and even midfielders Trey Nyoni and Wataru Endo as makeshift centre backs during pre-season, which may explain why in their second friendly encounter on Monday, both Athletic Club goals came from set plays.
"Two set-piece goals is not what you want, especially when you face Crystal Palace next week," Slot admitted after the Bilbao win. "It is something to work on."
The Dutchman does believe, though, that while the club have yet to bring in a replacement for the recently-departed Quansah in the heart of defence, they do still have enough cover at the back for a successful title defence.
"We have enough options left," said Slot. "But it's true that Jarell Quansah left and we haven't replaced him yet."
Intriguingly, however, one player Slot has reportedly been monitoring to fill that gap at the back is Marc Guehi, who will line up in central defence for Palace on Sunday, giving Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes the perfect chance to run his eye over the England international.
Richard Morgan
Will Ngumoha stake a first-team claim at Wembley?
In contrast to central defence, Slot has a range of exciting options to fill the void on the left created by Luis Diaz's departure to Bayern Munich.
Either Cody Gakpo or Wirtz could get the nod at the home of football, while the versatile Hugo Ekitike can also play in that position. Although do not rule out young winger Rio Ngumoha being involved in some capacity.
Ngumoha has so far shone in pre-season, scoring twice and providing two assists in his four appearances, including stunning solo efforts in wins against Yokohama F Marinos and Athletic Club that showed just why Chelsea were so reluctant to see him leave their academy last summer.
Even though the England U17 international is not eligible to sign a professional contract until he turns 17 at the end of this month, Slot has already shown he is not afraid to give youth a chance since taking over at Anfield, with the club keen to leave a pathway for him into the first-team squad.
And if Liverpool are in need of a goal this weekend, then it would be no surprise at all were Slot to turn first to the pacy wide man to make an impact from the bench, especially given how dangerous he has been running at tiring defences this summer, while Wembley's vast open spaces should also be to his liking.
Richard Morgan
Eagles in limbo - but can they win another trophy?
It has been a dramatic few months for Crystal Palace after winning their first FA Cup in May.
They were ultimately demoted to the Conference League from the Europa League due to UEFA's multi-club ownership rules and the Community Shield comes in the middle of a pivotal few days.
With their CAS appeal hearing on Friday and verdict expected on Monday, the Eagles' European future remains in limbo as they head into Sunday's game.
And that uncertainty may have had a knock-on effect on transfers. There have only been two incomings - Walter Benitz and Borna Sosa - but by the same token, few big outgoings.
Eberechi Eze and Guehi continue to be subject to transfer speculation, but there have been few concrete movements. Palace have kept the vast majority of their FA Cup-winning squad intact from last season.
So, on the pitch at least, not a whole lot has changed, in stark contrast to their free-spending opponents.
While some may point to continuity - never a bad thing - there is a shadow hanging over Palace at the moment. A Community Shield win would certainly be a pre-season boost, and hopefully spur them on for a successful rest of the month.
Charlotte Marsh
Palace to be thorn in Liverpool's side again?
Palace have history when it comes to upsetting Liverpool on the big occasion, dating all the way back to their shock FA Cup semi-final win over the then-holders in a seven-goal thriller at Villa Park in 1990, just months after being thrashed 9-0 by the soon-to-be champions at Anfield.
Almost a quarter of a century later, the Eagles were at it again, scoring three times in the final 11 minutes to draw 3-3 with Liverpool at Selhurst Park and all but extinguish Brendan Rodgers' sides hopes of winning that season's Premier League.
Palace also inflicted Jurgen Klopp's first defeat as Liverpool manager when Scott Dann scored a late winner at Anfield in November 2015, before Oliver Glasner's side ended the Reds' title hopes with another surprise 1-0 victory on Merseyside in April 2024.
And the Austrian was just minutes away from reproducing that away masterclass in the final game of last season as the Reds looked to end their title-winning campaign on a high in front of their own fans, only for Mohamed Salah's last-gasp equaliser to deny the visitors a fifth Premier League triumph at Anfield in the last decade.
So do not rule out another upset Eagles win at the home of football this weekend…
Richard Morgan
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