Manchester City and Liverpool meet on Saturday in the traditional season curtain raiser, as the rivals lock horns once again in the Community Shield.
The clash, which pits the winners of last season’s Premier League and FA Cup against each other, is technically seen as a trophy, but in reality, most teams view it as an opportunity to build fitness ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
City certainly view it that way, with Pep Guardiola’s men only playing two pre-season friendlies so far this summer, and are alarmingly short of full match fitness.
Liverpool appear to have a similar attitude to the Community Shield, which is most aptly summarised by the fact they host Strasbourg at Anfield the following day.
It’s likely Jurgen Klopp will name an entirely different XI for both matches, although certain players could be rested for the clash with City in order to play 90 minutes on Sunday.
The German also has several injury concerns ahead of the Community Shield, which is being held at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium due to the final of the Women’s Euro 2022 being staged at Wembley on Sunday.
Indeed, Klopp’s injury problems are so widespread he may have to select his third-choice goalkeeper against City.
Here are the players expected to miss out for the Reds at the weekend…
1. Alisson
Speaking in Thursday’s press conference, Klopp confirmed the goalkeeper will miss out due to injury, but will return for the Premier League season-opener against Fulham. “Ali trained today more than the day before so he will be definitely available for Fulham, but not for the weekend,” he said.
2. Caoimhin Kelleher
A groin strain has ruled him out of pre-season and means the young stopper will be unavailable for Saturday, with third-choice Adrian expected to deputise between the sticks.
3. Calvin Ramsay
Klopp said ‘a little injury’ was discovered when the Scotsman completed his medical as part of his summer transfer from Aberdeen. The subsequent treatment means Ramsay will miss the start of the season.
4. Kostas Tsimikas
Missed the midweek friendly loss to RB Salzburg due to a knock and is not expected to be involved in Leicester.