It’s almost Premier League season! Sunday provides one final preseason ritual before teams take the field for the annual August-through-May marathon: The annual Community Shield match. It’s typically between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup winner from the previous season, but defending Community Shield champions Manchester City won the double last year, so their opponent will be the Premier League runner-up. That, of course, is Liverpool, who couldn’t close the gap with City on the final day of the season, but proceeded to win the UEFA Champions League against fellow English side Tottenham Hotspur.
Held at Wembley Stadium in London—home of the FA Cup final and the annual Championship play-in for the final Premier League spot—the match has an exhibition vibe to it even though the winner gets a very shiny silver shield that the match is named for. When a Guardian reporter posed a question to Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp about the Community Shield’s “preseason friendly” status, Klopp seemed surprised and bemused (which the publication captured on video).
Even though it might not carry the cache of an FA Cup final or even a regular-season six-pointer between the clubs, it should be an entertaining glimpse into the season to come. Both Liverpool and Manchester City are title favorites heading into the 2019-20 Premier League season, and they’ve got the potential to keep the race going to the final day like they did last season.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch Liverpool vs. Manchester City at the 2019 International Champions Cup.
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
- When: 10am ET, Sunday, August 4
- Where: Wembley Stadium in London, England
- Streaming: ESPN+
2019 Community Shield live stream: Watch Liverpool vs. Manchester City online
The match is on ESPN+; with its low monthly and annual subscription rate, provides an easy way to stream Liverpool vs. Manchester City in the Community Shield showdown.
ESPN+
- Cost: $4.99 per month or $49.99 for 12 months
- Devices: Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku players and TV, Oculus Go, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung smart TVs, and iOS and Android devices
ESPN+ is a subscription service that extends ESPN’s existing website and app, and it’s essential for soccer fans, in particular, carrying select International Champions Cup matches, as well as Serie A+, MLS, USL, Copa America, and FA Cup matches. It encompasses other sporting events as well, including 20 exclusive UFC Fight Night events per year, 180 NHL games, at least one MLB game a day for every day of the season, and a cornucopia of college sports.
ESPN+ also features the network’s sports talk programming, and it features original series starting with the entire 30 for 30 catalog ESPN made its name on. It also unlocks more content and fewer ads on the ESPN site.
Liverpool vs. Manchester City in the Community Shield match: What to watch for
For Liverpool, the match might answer more questions about squad depth than how the Starting XI of choice rolls out. There’s already one major contributor sitting out, Sadio Mane, due to playing in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal the week before last. Then, Liverpool’s season opener is on Friday, just four days after their date with City at Wembley.
While neither team participated in this year’s International Champions Cup, Liverpool did make a stateside visit for some exhibitions, whereas City went on an Asian tour to duel other Premier League teams before thumping Hong Kong champions Kitchee and handling Japanese club team Yokohama F. Marinos, with Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scoring in that one. There are rumors that Leroy Sane might be taking his talents to Bayern Munich, and might not be an option by the time Sunday’s match rolls around, but City’s obviously loaded even if he exits.
The Daily Dot may receive a payment in connection with purchases of products or services featured in this article. Click here to learn more.
Got five minutes? We’d love to hear from you. Help shape our journalism and be entered to win an Amazon gift card by filling out our 2019 reader survey.
