Liverpool will clash heads with Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Both teams will look to draw first-blood before the Premier League season kicks-off at Anfield next week. The Reds come into this contest at the back of a 3-1 victory over Olympique Lyonnais. However, they had to endure a tough pre-season in terms of results thus far.
On the other hand, the Citizens have been scoring goals for fun in their recent preseason matches and will come into this game full of confidence. We can expect an exciting clash this weekend with both sides looking to go all out for a win.
Talking Tactics
Jurgen Klopp will likely stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation with Georginio Wijnaldum operating as part of the Liverpool frontline. The German head coach would need his players to keep their fitness levels up during the game. The Merseyside outfit will be expected to press high up the pitch and force the Man City players into making mistakes.
Pep Guardiola will also opt for a 4-3-3 set-up and might call upon the services of Sergio Aguero to add more goals to his side. The Spaniard would hope that his players can dominate possession and create enough chances to score a few goals at Wembley this weekend.
Team News
Liverpool
Klopp won’t take any risks with his team selection as the Premier League campaign is all set to kick-off next week. Roberto Firmino played for 31 minutes before being subbed against Olympique Lyonnais in midweek. So he should be well-rested and might get the nod to start alongside Mohamed Salah up front. However, Sadio Mane won’t be available for this weekend’s clash against the Premier League champions.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner; Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino
Manchester City
Sergio Aguero might be fit enough to start in this game against the reigning European champions. Gabriel Jesus might return to Guardiola’s squad but only to take his place on the Man City bench. The Citizens’ new summer recruit, Rodri is a nailed-on starter alongside Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva at the heart of Guardiola’s midfield.
Manchester City Predicted XI
Ederson Moraes; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, David Silva; Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva
Key Men
Liverpool
It is still unclear whether Salah and Firmino will be able to play for the full 90 minutes. It is quite likely that they will be substituted during the match. Therefore, the duo would need to be prolific in the final third if Liverpool are to stand a chance of winning the game at Wembley Stadium.
Van Dijk will also be an integral member of the Reds backline as he looks to grab a clean sheet versus Man City this Sunday.
Manchester City
Sterling and Aguero will be expected to get their names on the scoresheet against Liverpool while De Bruyne will also play a crucial role in determining the fate of this contest. The defensive partnership between Laporte and Stones needs to be strong if the Citizens are to cope with the threats of Firmino and Salah.
Odds
The bookies have made Manchester City the favourites to emerge victorious versus the Reds as they are priced just under evens at 10/11. The draw is listed as 11/4 while Liverpool are as big as 14/5 to pull off an upset as the underdogs this weekend.
