Manchester City and Liverpool have many things in common.
The two north-west sides have pushed English football to new limits with their gripping title races that have raised the bar for what is required to win the Premier League. Both clubs recruited world-class managers and gave them the autonomy to shape their squads to bring out the best in the players.
They are getting more similar too. While last year there was a clear difference in how they played, now Jurgen Klopp is boasting about the different attacking trios he can field while Erling Haaland adds the pace and directness that Pep Guardiola has not had up front for some time.
Also read: Erling Haaland's first major interview since signing for Man City
However, if the teams are expected to duke it out again as they seek English and European glory, their preparations for those battles are markedly different - aside from the Community Shield at the end of July when they play each other. The traditional curtain-raiser for the season is at Leicester this season owing to Wembley being used for the women's Euros, cutting down travelling for both teams.
After three years without a commercial tour, Guardiola is taking his team back to his preferred base in the United States in what is a slim schedule. The players were given additional time off to recover from the season and June international fixtures, and will have only had a few days together when they travel to Houston at the end of this week.
There they will face Club America before flying to Green Bay to face Bayern Munich before returning to Manchester for another week together ahead of the Community Shield - their final warmup before the opening game of the Premier League season at West Ham.
In contrast, Liverpool returned to their training ground a week earlier and have already played their first of six friendlies - losing to Manchester United 4-0 in Bangkok. They play Crystal Palace in Singapore on Friday before a trip to east Germany to face RB Leipzig is followed by a training camp in Austria that features a match against RB Salzburg three days ahead of the City match.
Even then, they are not done with a home game against Strasbourg the following day rounding off a rather busier pre-season for the Merseysiders. In total, they will play twice the number of fixtures as City and be in training for an extra week before the campaign officially gets underway.
After a few years where travel has been restricted owing to Covid, both clubs have had free rein this summer to decide exactly how best to prepare. With so little between the teams, these decisions could make the difference in deciding where the Premier League title is headed next year.
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