What is Manchester City’s possible lineup for today’s Community Shield vs Liverpool?
Manchester City will definitely be without defender Aymeric Laporte when they take on Liverpool in the Community Shield at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.
Central defender Aymeric Laporte is unavailable for Manchester City’s FA Community Shield clash with Liverpool on Saturday, head coach Pep Guardiola revealing that the Spain international will miss at least the first month of the new season after having a knee operation in the summer.
Laporte out until at least September, Dias struggling
“Laporte is injured,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “He had surgery after last season. He played the last three games [of the 2021/22 campaign] with an injury - an incredible effort, but he could not continue to do that. He has done incredibly well but we need to be careful because it is the knee. I think he will be out in August and maybe in September he will start to be with us. We will see.”
While Laporte is definitely out, it remains to be seen whether fellow centre-back Ruben Dias will start at the King Power Stadium. The Portuguese has been struggling with a hamstring injury and illness over the preseason period, and wasn’t involved in the 2-1 friendly win over Club América in Houston nine days ago. However, Dias did played for nearly an hour in City’s 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Green Bay on Sunday.
Depending on Dias’ fitness, Guardiola could pair Nathan Aké and John Stones at the heart of the City defence in Leicester. Stones has returned to availability after missing the Premier League champions’ US tour along with midfielders Phil Foden and Ilkay Gündogan. Unable to travel for reasons City have not confirmed, the trio instead joined the club’s Under-23s on their preseason trip to Croatia.
Haaland “ready to play”
Having scored the winner against Bayern in his first City appearance on Sunday, $75m summer signing Erling Haaland “feels good” and is set for his competitive debut, Guardiola said: “He is ready to play tomorrow, and my first impression is he is a guy who is really good. He is a funny guy, and he has settled in really well. Good vibes in the locker room are important - more than anything you can say.”
Midfielder Kalvin Phillips and striker Julián Álvarez, recruited this summer from Leeds United and River Plate, respectively, are expected to start on the bench.
Potential Manchester City XI vs Liverpool:
Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Grealish, Haaland, Mahrez
See also:
Community Shield: when and where
In what is the 100th edition of the English football season’s tradition curtain raiser, Liverpool and Manchester City face off at the King Power at 5pm local time (BST) on Saturday. In the United States, that’s 12 noon EDT and 9am PDT. Viewers in the US will be able to watch the match on the streaming service ESPN+.
Find out more about how to tune in to the game.
You’ll also be able to follow live-text coverage of the Community Shield at AS USA.