Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool face off on Saturday in the Community Shield after a busy summer of transfer activity.
Both the reigning champions and FA Cup winners have shuffled their packs ahead of next campaign and this clash at the King Power Stadium offers fans a perfect opportunity to see their refreshed squads in action.
Man City’s tour of America did not kick off the way Pep Guardiola would have hoped.
Phil Foden, John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan travelled to Croatia with the under-23s after failing to meet US entry protocols, while Aymeric Laporte, who is still recovering from a knee injury, was forced to stay at home.
But the Premier League champions prevailed in both outings during the brief pre-season tour, winning 2-1 against Club America and 1-0 against Bayern Munich.
De Bruyne continued to flaunt his world-class talent with a brace against the Mexico City side, while new star striker Erling Haaland scored the winner in the clash with the German champions.
Club record signing Jack Grealish enjoyed a pre-season to remember after two impressive displays, teeing up Haaland with a well-worked assist and reminding Guardiola of the creativity he brings to the City team.
Meanwhile, Liverpool took flight on a tour of southeast Asia and central Europe in a bid to build fitness ahead of another Premier League title hunt.
The Champions League finalists endured a dismal start to pre-season in Thailand with a 4-0 loss to bitter rivals Manchester United.
Liverpool bounced back in Singapore with a confident performance against Crystal Palace, beating Patrick Vieira’s side 2-0 with goals from Jordan Henderson and substitute Mohamed Salah.
Jurgen Klopp enjoyed his best pre-season win on home soil as the Reds travelled to Germany to thrash RB Leipzig 5-0. Star £85million signing Darwin Nunez added to Salah’s opener with four well-taken goals, redeeming himself after a horror miss against United the week before.
The Reds boss fielded a second string line-up against Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and subsequently suffered a 1-0 loss.
While Man City boast a perfect record in pre-season, Liverpool have had two extra fixtures to build up fitness and sharpness, making for an intriguing battle between the Premier League juggernauts on Saturday.
