So far the International Champions Cup has not failed to impress and there's yet another tantalising fixture coming up. Liverpool FC - Manchester City, the Premier Leagues top two are meeting in New York at the Yankee Stadium.
Liverpool haven't had the best pre season, having played 4 games, winning two and losing two. However, their ICC campaign has got off to a strong start, with the Reds defeating Olympiacos 1-0 through an early goal from Raheem Sterling. However, a few days prior to this, Liverpool had lost disappointingly to Roma to a scoreline of 1-0. However it may not sound bad, Liverpool had numerous chances to take the lead throughout the game but failed to be clinical in front of goal. Prior to that, Preston had been defeated 2-1 thanks to 2 quick goals from Suso and Kris Peterson and Brondby IF had beaten the Reds 2-1 in Denmark.
Manchester City have also played 4 games, but have a record of 3 wins and 1 defeat. They began with a 2-0 loss to Dundee FC, but soon picked up form with a 2-1 over Hearts and a 4-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City, before beginning their ICC campaign with a phenomonal 5-1 win over AC Milan. The Sky Blues will be hoping to keep up this impressive run of form in their next match, but it won't be easy.
Both sides have a number of players who can change the flow of the game in a split second.
Manchester City arguably have more game changing players. Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis will be the strongest centre back pairing the Blue Moon can play, and many believe they could be strong enough to stop the Reds attack. Sat in front of the pair will be Yaya Toure. The Ivorian central midfielder was easily the best in the Premier League last season and is likely to continue being a dominant force in the centre of the field next season, despite allegedly beign unsettled at the club earlier this year. Further forward, Sergio Aguero will be threat to the Reds goal and could cause the defence all kind of problems. However, he may not be risked in a pre-season game as, being injury prone, Manuel Pellegrini may not want to risk his fitness before the start of the season.
However, Liverpool also have their arsenal of players. For a start, their attacking trio will be running wild around the Manchester City defence, with Daniel Sturridge down the centre trying to penetrate into the box and score. Either side of him will be two fast, lethal attackers, most likely Raheem Sterling and Lazar Markovic. Sterling has now had two impressive seasons under Brendan Rodgers, an impressive stat for a 19-year old. Markovic made his debut against Olympiacos and it was a bright one, showing thousands of fans exactly why Liverpool paid £20 million for the youngster. However, Liverpool's strengths do not end there, with a strong midfield including Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and the Brazilian playmaker who scored the winner the last time these two sides met, Philippe Coutinho.
The memeorable clash in April very nearly changed the outcome of the title challenge. Liverpool took an early lead through Raheem Sterling, who dummied round Kompany and threw Hart off balance before tucking into the net. The Reds lead increased just 20 minutes later after Martin Skrtel doubled the Reds lead. This gave Rodgers side a 2-0 lead entering the break, putting the odds firmly in their favour. However, not long into the second half, David Silva pulled one back for Manchester City after James Milner's cross laid up nicely for the Spaniard. Then, just minutes later, Glen Johnson put the ball into his own net to equalise the score, Manchester City were right back in this and thriving off the pressure of performing in front of thousands of passionate Reds, hoping to cause an upset. However, with just 12 minutes remaining, Vincent Kompany sliced his clearance and Philippe Coutinho fired his shot away, curling into the bottom corner, out of reach of England's number 1, Joe Hart.
However, things could be different this time round, especially considering Liverpool will be without Luis Suarez, but it's highly unlikely that either side will play a full strength squad in New York. Either way, the game should be full of action and entertainment.