The Premier League’s two standout sides lock horns again on Saturday as Manchester City take on Liverpool at the King Power Stadium with the Community Shield on the line.
City come into the clash having played three pre-season games less than Liverpool, therefore there will be questions about how their match fitness will compare to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
However, Pep Guardiola’s men do come into the game on the back of two solid victories against Club America and Bayern Munich where Erling Haaland netted his first goal for the club 12 minutes into his debut. Liverpool meanwhile have had a mixed bag of results so far, winning three and losing two of their pre-season clashes.
Though both sides come into the clash arguably short of their best, it’s still set to be a tight and intriguing contest between the two with the smallest of margins likely to determine the victor. Both Premier League matches finish 2-2 last season, while Liverpool run out 3-2 winners in the FA Cup semi-final clash in April.
For that FA Cup clash, Guardiola made a number of notable changes to his starting XI, particularly it was his decision to rest Ederson and instead play Zack Steffen that not only raised eyebrows before kick off, but also ultimately proved costly on the day.
This is because early into the first half, with City already trailing through an Ibrahima Konate header, Steffen was caught in possession inside his own penalty area which allowed Sadio Mane to slide in and double Liverpool’s advantage.
The error came about as a result of some good pressing from Liverpool high up the pitch, however City are used to facing such pressure and usually cope extremely well with the same, thanks to the ability of Ederson with the ball at his feet.
He’s key to a lot of City’s good possession play inside their own half and it shouldn’t be a huge shock to note that just 23.9 per cent of his Premier League passes last season were launched long.
Steffen’s mistake was a reminder of just how good Ederson is in this regard, and it’ll be interesting to see whether we see a similar scenario play out Saturday, though this time with Liverpool potentially vulnerable.
This is because Klopp’s men are set to be without their key shot-stopper, Alisson. He hasn’t been involved since the pre-season friendly against Manchester United in Bangkok. And although the Brazilian has now resumed training, Klopp has confirmed he won’t be fit for Saturday’s clash.
Alisson is the only Premier League keeper who played a lower portion of long kicks last season (22.2 per cent) than Ederson, and he too is key to Liverpool’s ability to competently play out from the back.
Adrian has been playing in place of Alisson, however he’s not got anywhere near the same ability with the ball at his feet. City are sure to press Liverpool high, as they do against all opponents, and the Spanish keeper could well be the weak leak that they aim to expose.
