Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez in the running for Community Shield stars but injury problems for Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aymeric Laporte

The 2022/23 season begins on Saturday with the Community Shield as Manchester City take on Liverpool at the King Power Stadium.

City and the Reds were by far the two best sides in the country last year, so it’s only fitting that they’re part of the traditional curtain raiser.

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The Citizens won the Premier League, while the Reds triumphed in the FA Cup.

But the two teams could be very different from last season, with injuries, fitness and new signings impacting the decisions of managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

So talkSPORT.com decided to take a look at the latest team news from both sides.

Manchester City

Manchester City have had a summer of change, with four new signings although a few key players have left.

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Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko are no longer at City, while Kalvin Phillips, Erling Haaland, Stefan Ortega and Julian Alvarez have joined them.

Haaland scored within minutes of his debut and could lead the line at Leicester.

Meanwhile, Alvarez and Phillips will likely be involved but may not be in Guardiola’s starting XI.

Given that it’s technically a friendly, the boss could choose to play Ortega rather than Ederson in goal.

But City’s pre-season preparations were less than ideal when midfielders Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and defender John Stones were banned from entering the United States due to their Covid vaccination status. .

So even though they are in good form, it’s hard to imagine they could play against a team like Liverpool just yet.

Meanwhile, defender Aymeric Laporte hasn’t been deemed fit enough to be included on Guardiola’s tour meaning he must be in doubt.

liverpool

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There have also been some changes at Anfield, with striker Sadio Mane as a major departure.

Mane was an integral part of Klopp’s squad but Darwin Nunez looks like an excellent replacement.

The Reds have paid £85m for the Uruguay striker, and with Diogo Jota out injured he is likely to start against City.

Roberto Firmino is another option for the Reds, but it would be a surprise if Klopp doesn’t play under Nunez, given his pre-season involvement.

New signing Fabio Carvalho could also play a role but Calvin Ramsay is likely to miss out as he hasn’t played a game since arriving from Aberdeen.

Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and goalkeepers Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher are also affected by injuries.

Oxlade-Chamberlain came off with a hamstring problem, while Alisson picked up an abdominal injury which ruled him out of Liverpool’s final two pre-season games.

This means Adrian could start in the Reds’ goal at King Power.