Reds, three other english teams vie in Asia trophy

HONG KONG – Liverpool FC goalkeeper Simon Mignolet relishes the opportunity to get a good pre-season workout against English clubs as they compete in the 2017 Premier League Asia Trophy tonight at Hong Kong Stadium here.

Mignolet and the Reds take on Crystal Palace at 8:30 p.m. in the four-team competition featuring an all-English lineup for the first time. Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion figure in the opening encounter at 6 p.m.

“I think it’s a really good preparation because you’re facing your regular opposition (in England) and you’re playing a similar style of play that you’re going to the face in the Premier League,” Mignolet, speaking on behalf of his pals in the Standard Chartered Bank-sponsored LFC, said yesterday.

“The conditions and where you’ll play is different but it’s nice to show fans out here to see what the Premier League is all about with their own eyes. They’re looking for Premier League games every week on the telly and now they can watch the stars in real life,” he added.

Liverpool’s target, the Belgian stressed, is to win every game – regular season or not.

“We go into every game with the idea of getting the three points. We know the pre-season is about getting back to fitness, getting that mobility and feel of the ball again but at the same time, we want to win games, that’s what we always play for,” said Mignolet.

Concerns were raised on the conditions of the pitch given the heavy rains the past couple of days but Mignolet said “we’ll deal with the situation the best way we can.”

LFC manager Jurgen Klopp agreed: “We need to be focused. We need to try to be as good as possible in this moment.”

The Eagles manager Frank de Boer, who came on board only last month, said he expects a physical and aggressive Liverpool in this match-up.

For his part, Palace captain Jason Puncheon said: “Pre-season isn’t about results but we all want to win and when we turn up on Wednesday, we will all want to do that,” he said.