Liverpool and Manchester City will lock horns in the Community Shield on Saturday evening as the starting gun for the new 2022/23 season is fired.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are coming off the back of a successful season where they won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but missed out on Premier League and Champions League honours.
Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the league title yet again last season, beating Klopp's side by one point on the final day of the season after scoring three goals in five minutes.
The two teams are without doubt the two strongest sides in the Premier League, and after two marquee signings in Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) and Erling Haaland (Man City), they are preparing to battle it out yet again in another action-packed football campaign.
The Reds earned their place in the annual season curtain-raiser after winning the FA Cup in May while Manchester City are their opponents by virtue of winning the Premier League.
Here's everything you need to know about the Community Shield match:
What time is Liverpool v Manchester City kick-off?
The Community Shield kicks off at 5pm at Leicester's King Power Stadium on Saturday, July 30. The Community Shield is not being played at its traditional home of Wembley because it is hosting the Women's Euro 2022 final on Sunday, July 31.
What TV channel is Liverpool v Man City on? What about live streaming?
Liverpool and Manchester City will contest the Community Shield in a match broadcast live by ITV, with live streaming available via the ITV Hub.
Who is the Community Shield Liverpool v Man City referee?
Craig Pawson will referee the fixture and will be assisted by Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton, while Darren England will be the fourth official and John Brooks on VAR duties.
Pawson was the referee for four Liverpool matches last season, including the FA Cup final win against Chelsea and the Reds' 3-2 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League last November. It was during the latter contest that Klopp became frustrated with Pawson's handling of a number of incidents, including a challenge from Aaron Cresswell on Jordan Henderson that was not shown a red card and a West Ham goal via a corner where Klopp felt his goalkeeper Alisson Becker had been fouled.
Klopp then went on to criticise Pawson for relying on VAR when making decisions. When asked whether referees are using VAR as a back-up, the Reds boss said: “Not all refs, but he does. He just looks at the situation and says, ‘okay, let’s see what they say’. He did that today, definitely. There is a problem because they don’t give a foul but then the VAR has to look for a clear and obvious mistake.”
What's the early Liverpool v Man City team news?
Manchester City's blockbuster signing Erling Haaland is in line for his first big appearance for the club. He is already one of the most formidable strikers in world football, and netted against Bayern Munich in pre-season.
Liverpool have their own firepower, though. Nunez had his critics coming into this Liverpool side, but he knocked in four goals against RB Leipzig recently, showing John W. Henry what he paid £85million for.
Klopp's main man between the sticks is unavailable for this fixture, as Alisson Becker is ruled out with injury. The same applies to Diogo Jota, who will remain on the sidelines for a while longer, after aggravating a hamstring injury while the squad were in Thailand for pre-season.
City's commanding centre-half Aymeric Laporte has been ruled out of the match by boss Pep Guardiola, which means that Nathan Ake or John Stones will most likely fill the void next to the ever-reliable Ruben Dias. Apart from that Guardiola has a plethora of options to form a very strong side.
Liverpool expected line-up: Adrian (GK), Alexander-Arnold (RB), Matip (CB), Van Dijk (CB), Robertson (LB), Fabinho (CDM), Thiago (CM), Henderson (CM), Diaz (LW), Nunez (ST), Salah (RW).
Manchester City expected line-up: Ederson (GK), Walker (RB), Dias (CB), Ake (CB), Cancelo (LB), Rodri (CDM), De Bruyne (CM), Silva (CM), Grealish (LW), Haaland (ST), Mahrez (RW).
What have the managers said?
Manchester City have been busy this transfer window, securing the signatures of Kalvin Phillips, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Stefan Ortega Phillips. Pep Guardiola is hoping they won't need time to settle in.
"Hopefully not, as soon they settle the better. In my feeling they won't take time. Stefan surprises us a lot in all aspects on the ball and build-up, Kalvin knows the PL perfectly. The way they settle in the few games we play, I think they will settle."
Liverpool lost one of their star players this summer, after Sadio Mane joined Bayern Munich for £27.4million. However, Jurgen Klopp says it's time to move on.
"Of course we have had a little change in our team. We lost Sadio, who was a fixed line-up player for six years. But it's always like this. We cannot try and stick together forever.
"We have to make changes and when Sadio came and told us that he wanted to face a new challenge, because it was early enough [in the close season] we accepted that."
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