Leicester, Manchester City collide in EPL curtain-raiser

WITH much of the world still captivated by the drama and excitement of the Tokyo Olympics, it's almost easy to forget that another global sporting spectacle is about to begin soon.

The new English Premier League (EPL) season begins on Aug 14, but before that, football fans are gearing up for the Community Shield "super cup" match between league champions Manchester City and the FA Cup winners Leicester City.

This weekend, just 27 days after Wembley hosted the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, the famous 90,000-seater stadium in north-west London will host the Community Shield - the traditional curtain-raiser fixture to the new English football season.

While some describe this game as nothing more than a glorified friendly that has lost much of its shine over the years, it still remains one of the key dates in the European football calendar.

The match takes place on Saturday night (Sunday 12.15am kickoff, Singapore time) and BT Weekend looks at how the two clubs are shaping up ahead of the big clash.

Citizens have experience and youth

Pep Guardiola's mighty Manchester City were well on course to capture as many as four trophies last season, but ultimately had to settle for just two. The Citizens won the EPL with some ease, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester United. This was their third championship in the last four campaigns, cementing their status as the team to beat.

City also retained the Carabao Cup in April by beating Tottenham in the final, a result that secured their fourth straight success in this competition and their eighth overall, matching the records held by Liverpool. They came up short in the FA Cup and Champions League, getting knocked out by Chelsea in both competitions at the semi-final and final respectively.

The Citizens are regular participants in the Community Shield, winning six to date and having taken part in five of the last 10 editions. The last time they took part in this fixture was in 2019 when they outlasted Liverpool in a penalty shootout.

Heading into the weekend, Manchester City were given a big boost after England and Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish agreed to join the club for a record-breaking transfer fee of £100 million (S$187.7 million). That makes the 25-year-old the most expensive signing in EPL history, surpassing the £89 million that Manchester United shelled out for Paul Pogba back in 2016.

Guardiola will hope Grealish can settle in quickly, as he prepares to face Leicester without a host of first-team players including Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Ederson, Rodri and Ferran Torres. They were given extended time off after racking up plenty of minutes at the recent Euro 2020 and the Copa America tournaments, and have only recently returned to full training.

The Spanish manager, however, does have the luxury of a deep and talented squad with plenty of young players from the club's academy - among them James McAtee, Cole Palmer, Samuel Edozie and Ben Knight - who have all impressed in City's pre-season friendlies.

With his hand forced into making a few changes, Guardiola will likely give some of them a run-out at Wembley alongside experienced stars like Riyad Mahrez (a former Leicester winger), Ilkay Gundogan and Ruben Dias.

The Community Shield may not rank highly on Guardiola's must-win list, but it is still a trophy nonetheless and he will be eager to make sure his players give their all and continue to savour that winning feeling.

Foxes can spring a surprise

This will be only Leicester's third appearance in the Community Shield and their first since a narrow defeat to Manchester United in the 2016 edition.

The Foxes punched their ticket to Wembley after beating Chelsea in last season's FA Cup at the same stadium, an impressive result that few expected that day but one that was fully deserved as Leicester more than held their own against their more established opponents.

What's a tad worrying for manager Brendan Rodgers is the fact that Leicester are in erratic form, failing to win their first three pre-season friendlies against lower-league opposition before finally succeeding at their fourth attempt - a 3-2 success over Spanish side Villarreal earlier this week.

Unlike Manchester City, Leicester have almost their entire squad back in training, with the exception of Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and Welsh defender Danny Ward.

Rodgers will be eager to field his new £23 million striker Patson Daka, an exciting 22-year-old from Zambia who won both the Golden Boot and the Player of the Year award with Red Bull Salzburg last season.

One of Daka's greatest strengths is his lightning pace, and he could cause lots of problems for Manchester City's defenders. He could make his competitive debut alongside 34-year-old Jamie Vardy, whose remarkable record of 11 goals in 15 games against City makes him a certain starter.

Leicester will head into this Saturday's showpiece as the underdogs, but the Foxes are more than able to hold their own against the bigger and wealthier teams, as they showed by getting past Manchester United and Chelsea in last season's FA Cup.

The Community Shield will be shown 'live' on Singtel TV Channel 111 on Saturday from 11.59pm.