The traditional curtain raiser to the English Premier League kicks off at midnight on Sunday, with Manchester City taking on Liverpool.
The FA Community Shield is a match between the defending Premier League champion, in this case, City, against the FA Cup winner last season, Liverpool.
If a club wins both titles, the second-placed team in the EPL plays the champion.
The match gives the teams, whom many see as the top two favourites for the title, a chance to draw first blood ahead of the ‘real action’ next week.
City and Liverpool were by far and away the best teams last season, but Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea may have something to say about that in the coming season.
All eyes, however, will be on the new boys at the King Power Stadium – City’s Erling Braut Haaland and Liverpool’s Darwin Gabriel Nunez Ribeiro.
The match is at Leicester’s home as Wembley is hosting the Women’s European Championship final.
City stole a beat on its rivals when they captured the Norwegian striker, whom many consider the outstanding talent of his generation, for only £55 million from Borussia Dortmund.
However, that does not include fees paid to his agent and father. He will also earn a weekly wage of £400,000. And he only turned 22 on July 21!
Although City has dominated the EPL recently, it is desperate to win the Champions League. Many see Haaland as the player to finally help it do so. And he certainly has the credentials.
He is the youngest player (20 years, 231 days) to score 20 goals in the Champions League, and he did it in only 14 games – beating Harry Kane’s record (24 matches).
Liverpool reacted by signing Nunez, who turned 23 on June 24.
The Portuguese striker scored six goals in 10 Champions League games, including two against Liverpool in the quarterfinals of last season’s competition. He also scored against Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Ajax.
Both forwards are seen as ‘traditional strikers’, unlike the ‘false No. 9’ favoured by many teams in recent years.
It will be interesting to see how City and Liverpool line up at the weekend, as they were among the teams not to favour an out-and-out striker.
With all the changes among the top teams, this season’s EPL promises to be the most exciting yet.
FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY SHIELD
- The first Charity/Community Shield match was before the 1908-09 season. It replaced the Sheriff of London Charity Shield.
- The highest-scoring match was in 1911, when Manchester United beat Swindon 8-4.
- In 1967, Tottenham goalkeeper Pat Jennings scored a goal from his penalty area against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The match ended 3-3.
- The first match at Wembley was in 1974. Liverpool defeated Leeds 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
- In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Shield was shared for six months each if there were no winners after 90 minutes. The penalty shoot-out returned in 1993.
MOST VICTORIES
- Manchester United (21)
- Arsenal (16)
- Liverpool (15)
- Everton (9)
- Tottenham (7)
- Manchester City (6)
