Liverpool to play Palace in Singapore pre-season friendly in July

Liverpool team 

SINGAPORE (AFP): Liverpool will play Premier League rivals Crystal Palace in Singapore in July, organisers said Tuesday, as pre-season games return to Asia after a Covid hiatus.

Liverpool, currently in second place in the Premier League, last visited Singapore for an open training session in 2011.

The match, at Singapore's National Stadium on 15 July, will be the first time that Crystal Palace has played in the city-state.

Premier League football is popular across Asia, and top teams regularly used to make pre-season tours of the region before the coronavirus pandemic prompted border closures worldwide.

But with most countries opening up and shifting to living with the virus, pre-season games are starting up again.

Manchester United has also announced matches in the region.

They take on Liverpool on 12 July in Bangkok and then head to Australia where they play A-League side Melbourne Victory on 15 July and Crystal Palace four days later.

Both games in Australia will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.