Pep Guardiola's previous comments about the Community Shield could have hinted at the Manchester City team news for Saturday.
Guardiola's side have just returned from a short pre-season tour of the USA where they beat Club America and Bayern Munich in Houston and Green Bay respectively. Following the victory over Bayern, City flew back to Manchester to prepare for the challenge of Liverpool this weekend.
The Community Shield pits the Premier League champions against the FA Cup winners in a match which is seen as the beginning of the full season. Previously, Guardiola has questioned the need for the fixture entirely.
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Back in 2019, he said: "The Community Shield? Nobody counts it, that’s the question, I would like an answer.
"The Community Shield maybe counts for last season, but last season when we went on holiday it wasn’t there. In Spain and Germany it’s important.
"We have won two titles this season and have three to play but everyone says one. Why play if it doesn’t count?
"We could have longer holidays." Guardiola's confusion as to why the Community Shield features on English football's schedule potentially hints at City playing some of the younger members of the squad.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand impressed over in the States last week and with Oleksandr Zinchenko having left for Arsenal, Liverpool may be another opportunity for the 19-year-old to showcase his talents. The same could also be said for the likes of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.
Phil Foden, John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan were unable to travel out to the tour this month so Guardiola could see this as a chance to integrate them back into the first team squad. With the season just one week away, there could be a reluctance from Guardiola's point of view to flex his star players just before the campaign starts in earnest.
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