Liverpool vs. Manchester City: What to expect from Saturday’s Community Shield matchup?

Just a few hours from now, Liverpool and Manchester City will play the curtain-raiser to the English Premier League when they meet for the first piece of silverware in the Community Shield contest.

What more could you ask for on the return to English top-flight football? Two of the country’s best teams in the Reds and the Cityzens, battling it out for bragging rights and to gain a mental edge over one another.

There will be many differences that will take place when the winners and runners-up of last season’s Premier League run meet at 17:00 GMT at the King Power Stadium.

What Will Be Different in This Year’s Community Shield Meeting Between Liverpool and Manchester City?

1. The change in venue for the first since 2012
2. Leicester City will not be defending their shield, a new winner guaranteed
3. The new personnel to look forward to in both teams

The change of venue to the King Power Stadium

This will be the first time the Community Shield will be held at the King Power Stadium in the history of the event. The last venue to host the curtain-raiser other than Wembley was Villa Park back in 2012, where Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-2 for the shield.

The reason for the change is because Wembley is playing host to some of the games for the Women’s EURO 2022 tournament currently taking place in England. The finals this weekend Sunday, in fact, will have England versus Germany at Wembley; it promises to be a humdinger!

Leicester City Will Not Be Defending Their Shield

Last year we saw Manchester City narrowly lose the shield to Leicester City 1-0, helping them achieve the feet for only the second time in the club’s history, after making it to three different Community Shield matchups.

This now inevitably leaves us with a new winner this year 2022. But the question stands: will it be the 15-time winners, Liverpool? Or will it be the six-time winners, Manchester City?

In the last meeting between the pair of English powerhouses back in 2019, led by the same two men, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, the latter took the Shield back to the Etihad after a penalty shootout.

Before getting to the new players that will be taking the pitch, how have the two clubs been getting along in their respective pre-season preparations?