The Community Shield preview: Manchester City v Liverpool

Premier League champions Manchester City will take on Liverpool, the winners of the FA Cup and we could be in for a classic. 

 

The stats last season 

Once again there was barely anything to split these two sides in the Premier League last season as the title race went right down to the wire.  

Manchester City averaged 2.6 goals per game, while Liverpool managed 2.47. 

Both sides only conceded 26 goals throughout the season and they each faced the fewest amount of shots. 

In terms of creativity, it was Liverpool who averaged a slightly higher xG with 2.35 per 90, compared to Manchester City’s 2.34 per 90. 

The two sides met on three occasions last season with both Premier League games ending as 2-2 draws and Liverpool beating City 3-2 at Wembley in the FA Cup. 

Historically, Liverpool have the far superior record against City, but that has started to shift in recent years.  

Pep Guardiola already has two Community Shields in his trophy cabinet, although City did lose the last Community Shield final against Leicester 1-0. 

Jurgen Klopp has gone close, but he is yet to win the Community Shield with Liverpool. 

They lost out to Man City in 2019 and Arsenal in 2020, losing both games on penalties. 

 

Pep vs Klopp 

One of the most fascinating battles when these two sides lock horns is the tactical battle in the dugout. 

The two managers have met 22 times in total and it’s Jurgen Klopp who currently holds the advantage over Pep Guardiola with nine wins to his eight.  

In head-to-head matches, Pep’s sides average 1.86 goals whereas Klopp’s side average 1.68 goals.  

 

Haaland vs Nunez 

Perhaps the two most interesting additions to the Premier League this season are Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez. 

Manchester City have enjoyed some great successes with a false nine system, but you would imagine this changing with the introduction of Haaland. 

In the Bundesliga, Haaland was regularly one of the biggest xG overperformers and last season was no different as he scored 22 goals from an xG of 17.6. 

Darwin Nunez also has the potential to change the dynamics of Liverpool’s forward line, which was previously centred around Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane cutting in from the wing. 

Nunez really had his breakthrough season last year at Benfica has he scored 34 goals across all competitions. 

We will have to wait and see how the loss of Sadio Mane affects Liverpool, but Nunez certainly looks up to the job. 

 

Pre-season form 

Whether you take pre-season form into account or not is a valid question worth asking, but it is interesting to see who’s been looking sharp. 

Kevin De Bruyne scored a brace against Club America in a 2-1 victory and Erling Haaland got off the mark to score the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich. 

Manchester City lined up in a 4-3-3 formation in each match, but they played with a traditional striker instead of the false nine system we have come to expect from them.  

Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez started both games on the wing and this could point toward how they will set up against Liverpool on Saturday.  

Liverpool have had somewhat of a mixed bag in pre-season, with wins against RB Leipzig and Crystal Palace and losses against Manchester United and RB Salzburg. 

Darwin Nunez played a starring role in their 5-0 hammering of RB Leipzig, as he scored four second half goals. 

Both Haaland and Nunez are expected to play some sort of role in Saturday’s game, which is set up to be a classic.