Premier League champions Manchester City and Liverpool are all ready to face off in the traditional curtain raiser for the new English top-flight season.
The Community Shield match at the King Power Stadium on Saturday will offer both teams a chance to see exactly where they are in terms of preparation for the 2022-23 campaign.
City have continued their upwards journey in the off-season bringing in some heavy-duty reinforcements. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund for €55 million in what was one of the most high-profile transfers of the summer.
And the big Norwegian made an instant impression for his new club, scoring the winning goal in the 1-0 pre-season win over Bayern Munich.
Pep Guardiola's team have also brought in England midfielder Kalvin Phillips and German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Liverpool, who lost the league title to City last season by one point, have not had the smoothest of rides so far, with a heavy defeat to Manchester United in the pre-season and a chastening loss to RB Salzburg.
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Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the pre-season training camp in Austria. All photos by Getty Images -
James Milner, Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho working hard during the Liverpool pre-season training camp. -
Joel Matip with Fabinho on the run. -
James Milner tries to cool down after the training session. -
Manager Jurgen Klopp didn't take part in the run but seemed to enjoy the day. -
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is ready for action. -
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kostas Tsimikas, Joel Matip and Luis Diaz of Liverpool during the Liverpool pre-season training camp. -
Mohamed Salah, James Milner, Curtis Jones, Fabio Carvalho and Jordan Henderson on the move. -
Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kostas Tsimikas and Luis Diaz prepare for the new season. -
Isaac Mabaya, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Sepp van den Berg, Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson of Liverpool during the pre-season training camp.
Sadio Mane has left to join Bayern Munich after six years at Anfield, however, the arrival of Darwin Nunez from Benfica for a fee that could rise to a club record €100 million has softened that blow.
Nunez showed against RB Leipzig what he is capable of, scoring four out of the five Liverpool goals. But Klopp knows his FA Cup winning-team is not quite ready.
Following the match against City, they travel to Fulham for the league opener on August 6.
Manager Jurgen Klopp, though, feels his squad are under-prepared and plans to continue playing friendlies into the season with another fixture to be added to the schedule after the trip to Craven Cottage.
This weekend, he will be without Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota. Alisson has been struggling with an abdominal problem, while Portugal forward Jota has a hamstring injury.
What?
Liverpool v Manchester City, Community Shield
When?
Saturday, July 30, 2022, from 8pm (UAE time)
Where?
King Power Stadium
How to watch in UAE?
Saturday's match and the Premier League season can be watched on beIN Sports
