Liverpool vs Manchester City takes center stage in the FA Community Shield on Saturday at the King Power Stadium (kick off 12pm ET on Saturday) as the traditional curtain raiser for the domestic season in England will be intriguing viewing.
[ LIVE: FA Community Shield updates ]
These two teams will likely battle for the Premier League title once again and there is very little between them, as the usually friendly Community Shield will be fiercely contested as both teams aim to put down a marker for the season. Even though Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola won’t put too much significance on winning this trophy (and nowhere near as much as Jose Mourinho did), they’ll want to continue their preseason preparations in a positive manner.
Wembley Stadium is usually the host venue for this showpiece game between the previous season’s Premier League winner and FA Cup winner, but due to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final being held at Wembley on Sunday July. 31, Leicester City’s King Power Stadium has stepped in as the host.
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Both Guardiola and Klopp are rarely pleased by how little time off their players get over the summer and Klopp has already hit out at Liverpool having just 63 days between their UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid and this clash against Man City. As for Guardiola, his side have played just two games in preseason as they won both in the United States of America with a 2-1 win against Club America in Houston and 1-0 against Bayern Munich at Green Bay’s iconic Lambeau Field. Kevin de Bruyne scored both goals in the win in Houston, while Erling Haaland got his first City goal in the latter as fellow new signings Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega and Julian Alvarez all featured in the US
Liverpool have had a mixed preseason as they were hammered by Manchester United in Bangkok in their opening game but they have enjoyed victories against Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig, but then lost to RB Salzburg which has prompted Klopp to add an extra friendly in to his schedule after the PL season has actually started. With Darwin Nunez the main man up top (he scored four in their rout of RB Leipzig) there is plenty of pressure on him to replace Sadio Mane, while Mohamed Salah’s new contract calmed things down over the summer as the Reds look primed for another trophy push. Goalkeeper Alisson has been struggling with an injury during the preseason and Klopp has not been taking any risks with his star players.
Below is everything you need to know ahead of Liverpool vs Manchester City in the FA Community Shield.
How to watch Liverpool vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time
Kickoff: 12pm ET, Saturday
Updates: Live on NBCSports.com
Online: Stream via ESPN+
Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options
Alisson will not play in this game, so Adrian or Caoimhin Kelleher will step in. Klopp has confirmed that Alisson is back in training after missing most of the preseason with an abdominal injury and he will likely start against Fulham on Aug. 6 in their opening Premier League game. Diogo Jota remains out with a muscle issue. Kostas Tsimikas and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should have shaken off knocks to play some part.
Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options
Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias are still working their way back from injury, which has seen Pep Guardiola forced to use Kalvin Phillips at center back at times during the preseason. Expect Nathan Ake to start for City. Guardiola will have Phil Foden, John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan available after they missed the US tour due to not meeting the entry requirements.
Liverpool vs Manchester City: How to watch, team news, updates for FA Community Shield originally appeared on NBCSports.com