Manchester City and Liverpool will square off at the King Power Stadium on Saturday in the Community Shield, the official kickoff of the season in England.
Liverpool reached the match by winning the FA Cup while City earned its spot by winning the Premier League.
It will be an early test for the teams, who have emerged as far and away the top two sides in the Premier League in recent seasons.
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Here are three reasons why it’s worth tuning in on Saturday, followed by more information about the game.
1. The battle of the new strikers
Manchester City and Liverpool both spent big on new strikers in the summer. Liverpool paid Benfica a club-record fee of £64 million plus another potential £21m in add-ons for Darwin Núñez, while City paid Dortmund a relatively bargain price of £50m for Erling Haaland.
Both forwards showed in preseason why their new clubs valued them so highly. Núñez scored four goals in a half against RB Leipzig, while Haaland got on the scoresheet in his first appearance of the preseason against Bayern Munich.
2. How will Liverpool replace Mané?
This match will provide an early look at how Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will go about replacing Sadio Mané, who left this summer to join Bayern Munich.
Mané has been a huge part of Liverpool’s success in recent seasons, meaning his departure will leave a void even if Klopp does have a host of high-quality attackers at his disposal.
With Diogo Jota injured, Luiz Diaz will likely fill Mané’s spot wide right against City. Diaz proved an inspired signing after joining from Porto midway through last season. The Colombian is a different kind of threat than Mané, but his ability to combine with Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and other Liverpool attackers will be vital this season.
3. An early-season statement of intent
City and Liverpool have become something of a duopoly in England. The teams have finished one-two in the Premier League in three of the past four seasons, and are expected to once again go toe-to-toe for the title in 2022-23.
The Community Shield, then, will be a chance for the teams to make a statement in the first game of the season. Liverpool and City could be challenging each other for four trophies in 2022-23, and whoever wins the first trophy of the year will feel just a little better about their prospects heading into the season.
When is the Community Shield?
The 2022 Community Shield will kick off on Saturday, July 30 at 12 p.m. ET.
How can I watch the Community Shield?
The Community Shield will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Where is the Community Shield?
The Community Shield will take place at the King Power Stadium in Leicester rather than its usual location of Wembley Stadium, which is unavailable due to hosting the Women’s Euro 2022 final the following day.
It will be the first time since 2012, when the match was played at Villa Park due to the London Olympics, that the game won’t be held at Wembley.
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