A week from now, the English Premier League will kick off but before then, the FA community shield match must go down between the League winner and the FA Cup winner which automatically means Manchester City will face off against Liverpool and the match has been scheduled for the 30th of July.
The two clubs have suddenly become rivals in the Premier League, it use to be about the Manchester or London derby but in recent times, the two clubs' rivalry has turned the heat of things up in the league.
The 2021/22 season was a tight one for both sides, they met thrice and it was hard for one of them to come out victorious in the matches. After playing a draw twice in the league, Liverpool went on to kick Manchester City out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage. They won the final against Chelsea and it booked them a ticket for the real test of both teams' quality before the League kicks off next week.
I said it often that Liverpool and Manchester City are a perfect match when it comes to rivalry because of the quality of both teams but we saw lots of movement in both clubs during the break which might make us see something different from the usual Manchester City vs Liverpool rivalry.
The International friendlies showed us a little of what to expect from both teams but it wasn't enough to judge the teams' abilities, Liverpool were impressive at some point but we can't overlook them losing to Salzburg and Manchester United while Manchester City kept a 100% record in the preseason even though they only played two matches.
Losing to Salzburg raised a lot of questions about Liverpool's preparedness for the new season but I still don't think it is enough reason to think less of the club, the community shield should be the real test for them.
Liverpool
There have been a few changes in the team, Sadio Mane one of Liverpool's strikers won't be available for the match since he joined Bayern Munich; he is one of the Liverpool players that has caused Manchester City so many troubles in recent years. Minamino and Origi won't be available since they left the club as well but they aren't starters so I wouldn't think their absence would affect the team.
To replace Mane, Liverpool acquired the signature of Darwin who has been an awesome striker all along. The FA Community Shield will be his first competitive fixture since joining Liverpool and it would be a good boost for him and the team in general if they eventually win the cup.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola made lots of moves than Liverpool, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and Fernandinho won't be available for the match as they are no longer players of Manchester City.
These are players who have had a huge impact on the team but they can't be at the club forever, Manchester City signed Erling Haaland plus a few others and I can tell that the team is even in great shape despite the sales of these players.
It would be the first competitive match for Manchester City's new signings as well and I won't be surprised to see everyone putting a massive effort into making their presence felt in the match. We have seen more of Darwin than Haaland in the pre-season matches, the former Benfica forward has scored four goals in a single match against Leipzig while Haaland got Manchester City only and winning goal against Bayern Munich, it looks like to me that the match would be about which team as got the best legs during the transfer.
Regardless of how much attention we pay to the fresh signings, we cannot forget the impacts of the likes of Salah, Kelvin De Bruyne, and many others who are still on the teams, they won't give us anything lesser than an entertaining football.
The presence of the new players should have a huge difference in attack for both clubs, I want to believe there will be a winner before the end of 90 minutes judging by the differences in both clubs at the moment but it will be difficult to predict which team will come out victorious.
Liverpool and Manchester City faced off in the 2019 Community Shield and Manchester City won it after the penalty shoot-out, I believe many football fans will want to see the game buried before the end of 90 minutes. Liverpool will miss their veteran striker, Allison Becker won't be available for the club due to injury. Diogo Jota will also not be in action for his side, he would probably not be starting if he was okay; he might have been used as a substitute if there will be a need for him.
I expect both teams to start their first eleven players which will include Haaland for Manchester City and Darwin for Liverpool, the match will definitely not be taken lightly by the clubs since it will be a final to brag about and it will also give fans the idea of what to expect from their respective clubs in the new season.
Thanks for reading, I am looking forward to interacting with you in the comment section.
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