In a preview of what to expect from this English Premier League season, the two teams that finished 1-2 in 2013-14 campaign will clash when Manchester City take on Liverpool at the Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday in another game of the International Champions Cup.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 7 pm ET (4.30 am IST, 12 am BST) start with live coverage on Sony Six in India. International viewers can watch the preseason match via live streaming online HERE. Listen to the game HERE. Catch the action in the US on ESPN Deportes and Fox Soccer, while viewers can also live stream the game HERE or HERE. Viewers in the UK can watch the match on Sky Sports with the live streaming options HERE and HERE.
This summer has been different for both sides, with City making very few moves in the transfer market, happy to retain the core that won them the Premier League title last season, while Liverpool have been bringing in players left, right and centre, looking to fill the void left by the irreplaceable Luis Suarez.
Going by the preseason fixtures, City, already gelled and well keyed into each other, have cruised, while Liverpool are still feeling their way into this new era.
Manuel Pellegrini's men are coming off a 5-1 thumping of AC Milan, with Stevan Jovetic, the man who was injured more often than he was fit last season, showing this just could be the campaign when he lights up the Premier League.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have shown they are a work in progress, with all the new signings set to take some time before they get moulded into one lean, mean machine similar to the one which took the Premier League by storm last time out.
"I'm not too bothered about when we play them," Rodgers said in New York when asked about how he feels about facing City in the second game of their Premier League season. "You have to play every team twice, that's the reality.
"For us, we're happy to play them at the beginning of the season. We're playing in this tournament and there are really good teams in it.
"When you're the champions, you rightly go into the next season as the favourites. They were the champions last year, the most consistent team -- they pipped us by a couple of points -- so they will be the benchmark for next season."
Liverpool, who beat Olympiakos 1-0 in their last game, will, of course, be the big draw in New York, with the likes of Steven Gerrard having a major fan following in the US, and while the skipper will be the cynosure, it will be interesting to see just how the Liverpool forwards – Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert – link up.
"I looked at the combination of Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert in training today and they were exceptional -- the link up play and some of their combination play was great," Rodgers said.
"I think you'll see Daniel go on another level again this season, with the confidence of a full campaign last year and scoring the goals he did. Hopefully he can stay injury free this season.
"We've got Rickie Lambert who will get goals for us. He's starting to really get comfortable with the group. We've got a number of players that go and facilitate the role [of scoring goals]."
