Manchester City take on Liverpool at the King Power Stadium in Leicester this weekend in English football’s traditional curtain raiser, the Community Shield.
Pep Guardiola’s men will renew their rivalry with Jurgen Klopp’s side from the outset of the new campaign, with City playing in this fixture by virtue of winning last season’s Premier League and the Reds involved thanks to their FA Cup triumph over Chelsea.
The match would normally take place at Wembley but the national stadium is in use for the women’s Euro 2022 final between England and Germany, meaning both sides will be heading to the east Midlands instead.
Whether fans view it as a legitimate trophy or else a glorified friendly, one thing is for certain: whichever team wins will have gained a psychological edge over their opposition before the Premier League campaign has even begun.
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But Erling Haaland has already managed to score his first goal for the club, sliding in from inside the six-yard box to finish a smart move in the 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Wisconsin.
In their previous match, Kevin De Bruyne scored twice as City overcame Mexico’s Club America in Houston.
Liverpool, meanwhile, undertook both a tour of Asia and a training camp in Austria as Klopp split their pre-season preparations in two.
The Reds were thrashed 4-0 in the opening match of their summer by Manchester United in Thailand, before beating Crystal Palace 2-0 in Singapore.
They then defeated RB Leipzig 5-0 in Germany, with new signing Darwin Nunez scoring four times, before succumbing to a 1-0 loss to RB Salzburg on Thursday.
How to watch the Community Shield
Date: Saturday 30 July
Kick-off: 5pm
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester
TV channel: ITV, coverage begins at 4.15pm
Live stream: ITV Hub
Team news
City have a fully fit midfield and attack to choose from, with the most intriguing decision facing Guardiola being whether to use Haaland from the start or bring him off the bench.
With an abundance of talented and versatile players capable of playing in various positions, second-guessing Guardiola’s selection is a nigh-on impossible task.
In defence, Aymeric Laporte remains absent after suffering a ligament injury at the end of last season, while John Stones also missed the club’s pre-season tour. That means the returning Ruben Dias is likely to partner Nathan Ake in the centre of the backline.
Liverpool will be without both their first and second-choice goalkeepers, as both Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher are suffering from light knocks in the run up to the match. That means that former West Ham stopper Adrian will start in goal.
Up front, Diogo Jota suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season and is set to miss the opening weeks of the campaign, meaning either Nunez or stalwart Roberto Firmino will lead the attack. The Brazilian’s experience in the Liverpool system likely gives him the upper hand in the early portion of the season.
Left-back Kostas Tsimikas is also a doubt with a knock, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss out after suffering a hamstring injury in the win over Crystal Palace.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo; Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.
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