Missed football since the Champions League final on Sunday evening? Don’t worry, the new season is already on its way with the curtain-raiser in England taking place on Saturday.
Arsenal are returning to Wembley Stadium just four weeks after their FA Cup final victory over Chelsea saw Mikel Arteta win his first trophy as head coach.
A second could be on the way, but to do so Arsenal must overcome Premier League champions Liverpool, who ended their 30-year wait for the title in style when picking up a staggering 99 points.
It will be Liverpool’s first appearance in the Community Shield as league champions since 1990, although they have played in the match five times since in different guises, most recently last year as Premier League runners-up given Manchester City won the double.
Having lost that encounter with City on penalties, you have to go back to 2006 for Liverpool’s last Community Shield triumph, while Arsenal have won three of the past six editions to follow-up their FA Cup wins.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal have won the Community Shield 15 times, only Manchester United are above them on 23, while the pair have also lost seven times. That mirror-image of results will end on Saturday.
Community Shield kick-off time
The 2020 Community Shield will kick-off at 4.30pm on Saturday 29 August, and is taking place behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium.
Supporters cannot attend due to the coronavirus pandemic, although Saturday will also see a Brighton-Chelsea friendly at the Amex Stadium host 2,500 fans as the government trial the return of spectators.
Arsenal team news: Martinez or Leno?
Arsenal fans will hope to get a glimpse of new arrivals William Saliba and Willian, though Arteta was coy on whether they would feature on Saturday.
“I don’t know,” Arteta said. “We’ll make the decision tomorrow on who is going to play and who is going to be involved, but for sure they’re going to see our signings playing a lot of minutes this season. So it’s not a hurry to see them in one game. I know they will be excited and desperate to see them but they will see plenty of them this year.”
Arteta must also decide on his goalkeeper, with Bernd Leno fit once more to challenge Emiliano Martinez, who impressed between the sticks towards the end of last season.
“I love to have two goalkeepers at the level of Bernd and Emi,” Artet added. “I’m delighted to have both of them. But they both know that on the first day of pre-season, you start again and fight for your place and show us who is the one that deserves the chance to start.
“I don’t want to keep them both happy, I want the one that is not playing to be upset. But upset and then challenge the next player to make him better, or if not, earn his place to do that.”
Come home baby ???????????? pic.twitter.com/KpXnLoTy6c
— Emiliano Martínez (@emimartinezz1) August 1, 2020
Defenders Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring), Pablo Mari (ankle) and Calum Chambers (knee), plus striker Gabriel Martinelli (knee), all remain out.
Liverpool team news: ‘No problem’ for Van Dijk
Captain Jordan Henderson is continuing his rehabilitation from a knee injury and will miss Saturday’s match, likewise former Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Virgil van Dijk meanwhile should be fit to face Arsenal despite going off injured in Tuesday’s friendly against Salzburg.
“Virg only looks like he has a piercing now and has a plaster on it. It should not be, and is, no problem,” Jurgen Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com. “In the moment it is of course not cool but there will not be a problem.”
Joel Matip (foot) is a doubt, but Trent Alexander-Arnold should return to action having also been named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed that @VirgilvDijk is not expected to suffer any lasting effects after coming off against @RedBullSalzburg.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 25, 2020
How to watch the Community Shield
The Community Shield will be live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate with coverage starting from 4pm BST.
The match can also be live streamed on the BT Sport app.
Prediction: Narrow Liverpool win
This often-overanalysed season-opener will not have much of a bearing on the upcoming season despite the inevitable questions you will hear pundits asked come full-time on Saturday.
Arsenal’s Community Shield wins in 2014, 2015 and 2017 did not propel them towards a Premier League title – they finished sixth in 2017-18 – and that was not the case for Liverpool in 2001 or 2006 either.
Instead it is worth simply enjoying this match and seeing how new signings cope. How Saliba fares in the heart of Arsenal’s defence will certainly be intriguing, particularly as he looks set to face a familiar Liverpool attack given their lack of recruitment over the summer – so far.
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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 26, 2020
This quality sees Liverpool enter the match as favourites, but an Arsenal side buoyed by their FA Cup victory – and their 2-1 win in the most recent meeting in July – will certainly not roll over.
Past 10 Community Shield results
- 2010: Manchester United 3–1 Chelsea
- 2011: Manchester United 3–2 Manchester City
- 2012: Manchester City 3–2 Chelsea
- 2013: Manchester United 2–0 Wigan Athletic
- 2014: Arsenal 3–0 Manchester City
- 2015: Arsenal 1–0 Chelsea
- 2016: Manchester United 2–1 Leicester City
- 2017: Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea (Arsenal won 4-1 on pens)
- 2018: Manchester City 2–0 Chelsea (City won 5-4 on pens)
- 2019: Manchester City 1–1 Liverpool
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