Liverpool’s fifth pre-season game pits them against Man City in the Community Shield following their respective FA Cup and Premier League successes in the first of many clashes this season.
Liverpool vs Man City
Community shield | King Power StadiumSaturday, July 30, 2022 | 17:00 (BST)
After successful trips to Asia, Germany and Austria, Liverpool return home for the curtain raiser to the season, with the first piece of silverware also up for grabs.
Pep Guardiola’s side are the opposition at Leicester as last season’s Premier League champions meet the FA Cup holders.
Here are 10 key things to know ahead of Liverpool’s Community Shield clash.
1. A different backdrop
The 100th FA Community Shield will see Leicester’s King Power Stadium play host instead of Wembley, which will be used for this weekend’s Women’s European Championship final.
It is the first time in 10 years that England’s national stadium has not hosted the game, but with both clubs based in the north, it certainly makes the journey quicker – or it would if there wasn’t a strike trains
2. Adrian in the goal
Jurgen Klopp gave good and bad news about Alisson’s fitness on Thursday, with the weekend’s games coming too soon, but thankfully he will be back for the first leg at Fulham.
With the Brazilian out of contention against Man City, Adrian will again deputize to push his pre-season minutes past 300.
As for the other absentees, Diogo Jota, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Caoimhin Kelleher, Kaide Gordon and Calvin Ramsay will miss out.
A knock for Kostas Tsimikas saw him miss out against Salzburg in midweek and, after not taking part in team training on Thursday, this weekend could come too soon.
3. A strong XI for the 90s
With seven days between the Community Shield clash and the trip to Fulham, Klopp has already stated his intentions to see his chosen XI play 90 minutes for “the first time”.
After a hint of defeat in Salzburg, a strong starting line-up looks set to take the field for the King Power, one that wouldn’t look out of place at Craven Cottage, apart from Alisson replacing Adrian.
Joel Matip could opt for Ibrahima Konate, and Jordan Henderson instead of Naby Keita, with Roberto Firmino also getting the nod up front.
Likely Reds XI: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Diaz, Firmino
4. City are missing a key defender
Man City head into their meeting with Liverpool after just two pre-season friendlies, which were played against Club America and Bayern Munich in the United States.
It’s a contrasting approach to how Klopp sees an ideal pre-season, with just 21 players present for City during his time away.
Guardiola has seen the likes of Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko leave this summer and will now be without Aymeric Laporte until September, with the defender undergoing knee surgery.
That leaves Ruben Dias, John Stones and Nathan Ake as City’s senior centre-back options, with Dias and Ake the likely partnership on Saturday. Stones has yet to play in pre-season.
5. Is extension possible?
To Klopp’s relief, no.
If the game ends after 90 minutes, it’s straight to the penalty spot for a penalty shoot-out, which Liverpool are no strangers to either last season or in the Community Shield.
The Reds won all three penalty shootouts in 2021/22, which saw both the League Cup and FA Cup receive the Henderson shuffle treatment.
Regarding the number of substitutes, each team can name nine players on the bench and subsequently make a maximum of six changes in the game.
6. First of 2 games in 26 hours!
The Community Shield is the fifth of six pre-season games for the Reds, with the final outing just 26 hours after the first whistle in Leicester.
Liverpool return to Anfield on Sunday for their final game before the start of the season, taking on Strasbourg, who finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season.
This game kicks off at 7.30pm and will see those who didn’t feature heavily in the Community Shield clash continue to get valuable minutes in their legs.
7. Klopp nails shield mentality
Widely regarded as a glorified friendly, the Community Shield can take on different guises depending on which side of the result a club finds itself on.
That was not lost on Klopp when he spoke to the press on Thursday, the manager is keen to see his side do well but knows it is still only part of the pre-season schedule:
“Saturday’s game, will it show a lot of the season? I expect two good teams. I saw [vs. Salzburg]even when we lost, especially in the second half, I saw [us] in very good shape.
“Hopefully we can bring that on the pitch on Saturday as well. But of course it will be a challenge just to play 90 minutes, I’m not sure about the weather in England, but it can also be hot.
“If you win it, it’s a very important competition and if you lose it, it becomes less important.”
8. Did you know?
Liverpool have lifted the Community / Charity Shield 15 times in the club’s history, but have not won the season’s curtain-raiser since 2006, although they have contested it twice since then.
And, interestingly, of the 15 times the Reds have won the shield, they have only gone on to win the following league season five times.
Is it time to do 16 and six?
9. It’s Pawson in the middle…
Craig Pawson is the referee for this match, he will be supported by assistants Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton, with Darren England fourth official and John Brooks in the VAR booth.
Pawson is a referee who has previously been criticized by Klopp, although he is not the only one!
The most notable recent incident came after West Ham conceded a goal in a 3-2 defeat by Liverpool in November despite a clear foul on Alisson, with Pawson accused of “hiding” behind VAR .
“Not all referees, but he does. Not all referees,” Klopp said.
10. How can you watch?
In the United Kingdom, Liverpool vs. Man City will be broadcast live on ITV from 4.15pm (BST), with kick-off at 5pm.
But as always, you can join live coverage of This Is Anfield on our matchday live blog, with Joanna Durkan to keep you entertained and informed throughout the clash.