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Last year’s English champions meet last year’s European champions meet in a colossal Community Shield matchup on Sunday, as Manchester City take on Liverpool inside Wembley Stadium.
For those in the United States looking to watch the match (10 a.m. ET start time), it won’t be on regular TV, but you can watch it right here via ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has tons of different live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content all for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch Liverpool vs Man City live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Liverpool vs Man City Community Shield Preview
It’d be tough to dream up a better Community Shield matchup than this one, as Manchester City and Liverpool were far and away the two best teams in English football last year.
In a Premier League race for the ages, City nearly replicated their history-making 2017-18 campaign en route to 98 points and a second Premier League title in a row, while Liverpool finished with 97 in a season that would have won the title in pretty much any other year. While they were separated by just a point, third-place Chelsea was another 25 points down the ladder. It was a two-horse race, and it was an absolutely thrilling one.
That dominance wasn’t just relegated to the Premier League, either. City added two more trophies with triumphs in the FA Cup and League Cup, and Liverpool used a historic comeback against Barcelona and a 2-0 win over Tottenham to crown themselves the kings of Europe with their first Champions League trophy since 2005.
Heading into the 2019-20 campaign, both teams are expected to retain English–and perhaps European–supremacy.
Man City lost Fabian Delph and Vincent Kompany, and there are heavy rumors that Leroy Sane could be headed to Bayern Munich, but Pep Guardiola’s squad made a team-record signing by adding Atletico Madrid defensive midfielder Rodri, and they’re still loaded with attacking talent even if Sane departs.
Liverpool, meanwhile, were quiet this summer. But while they didn’t make an impact signing, the biggest departures were Danny Ings and Alberto Moreno, so they’ll look pretty much the same as last year’s Champions League-winning squad.
As for this particular match, both teams are expected to be mostly at full strength. Sane is a question mark for City with his future up in the air, and there are rumors that defenders Danilo and Aymeric Laporte aren’t with the team. And for Liverpool, Sadio Mane isn’t expected to play as he continues to recover from a busy Africa Cup of Nations, but the Reds are expected to have Mo Salah and Firmino up front along with the regular back line (Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold) and Alisson in goal
These teams matched up twice last year, as they drew 0-0 at Anfield, and City captured the 2-1 victory at home in January. If you go back to the start of 2018, though, Liverpool won the previous four matchups (one friendly). Ultimately, if their recent history is any indication, this will be a thrilling Community Shield.
Liverpool have 15 Community Shield wins, with the most recent coming in 2006. Man City have five Community Shield victories, including last year’s over Chelsea.
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