Liverpool v Manchester City - The Opposition

Manchester City take on Liverpool at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium on Saturday evening in a match that will decide whether or not the Community Shield counts as a trophy.

Should the blues win the match, then, of course, it will be nothing more than a pointless friendly and definitely not a major trophy. However, should City lose the match, then the Premier League title, along with the prestigious Community Shield trophy, should be immediately sent to Merseyside and the season cancelled.

Here, we take a look at Liverpool, Premier League runners-up last season and FA Cup winners on penalties.

Squad

Liverpool have made some moves in the transfer market this season, with the addition of Darwin Nunez from Benfica, Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen. They have also tied Mohamed Salah and Joe Gomez to long-term contracts. However they have lost one of their chief tormentors in Sadio Mane, who joined Bayern Munich over the summer, and Divock Origi joined AC Milan on a free transfer.

Other than that, it’s as you were, with the best keeper, best defenders, best midfield and best attack that failed to win the best league!

Pre-season Form

While not much can be read into a team’s pre-season form, it’s worth noting that the reds were battered 4-0 by Manchester United, although Jurgen Klopp did change his team several times throughout the match. They also beat Crystal Palace 2-0 and RB Leipzig 5-0, with their new striker finally getting on the scoresheet.

Key Players

Salah will once again be the main focus for Liverpool. The Egyptian striker scored 31 goals in all competitions last season and will be eager to continue his fine scoring run against City. Nunez, Diogo Jota and Luiz Dias make up the other key players for Liverpool’s attack, while Virgil van Dijk will once again manage the defence.

Past Results

Last season, the two teams drew both their league matches 2-2, although City should have won the match at the Etihad Stadium but had a Raheem Sterling goal disallowed for offside. The two met at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final and, despite the reds being 3-0 up at half-time, City gave them a scare and pulled it back to 3-2. It wasn’t enough to force extra time and City once again exited the competition at the last four stage.

The two last met in the Community Shield was August 2019 when the pair drew 1-1, with City winning the penalty shoot-out 5-4 to bring the shield back to Manchester.