Liverpool's 2019/20 pre-season campaign has not been one to shout about.
The Reds started off with convincing wins against Tranmere Rovers and Bradford City before succumbing to defeats against Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, and Napoli while securing a draw against Sporting Lisbon.
It isn't quite a crisis - there is a training camp in Evian still to come with Jurgen Klopp stepping up the intensity for his squad which will be bolstered by returning trio Alisson Becker , Roberto Firmino , Mohamed Salah , while Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita will also travel having trained on Saturday.
And the German boss has vowed his side will be “a different animal” when they step out for the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday - so there is plenty to come to help Liverpool prepare and improve before their Premier League curtain raiser against Norwich City on Friday, August 9.
Naturally, the faithful Kop will be concerned with what they have seen so far and they'd also be forgiven for being wrapped up in the state of affairs at Liverpool with no thought given to any other team.
However, as the new season draws closer and the Reds get set to face new arch-rivals City this weekend a look across to how Pep Guardiola's side have fared over the course of their pre-season is not a bad idea just to get a feel of what Liverpool could be faced with at Wembley.
The story of City's pre-season
City travelled to Asia for their pre-season tour.
A false start after administration problems meant they arrived in Shanghai two days later than originally planned and Guardiola told reporters his players were just 'surviving' due to jet lag and fatigue.
Their first match was against West Ham and they won 4-1 - a strong showing against Premier League opposition but City then faced Wolves and were held to a 0-0 draw before being beaten on penalties by Nuno Santo's side.
Hong Kong outfit Kitchee were up next for Guardiola's side and they won 6-1 before travelling to face Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos where City again won 3-1.
Conceding against what are essentially two minnow teams is not exactly something to brag about meanwhile playing only four games against no side set to compete in the Champions League doesn't feel like the ideal preparation to face the European Champions.
Unrest in Guardiola's team
Meanwhile, Angelino arrived back at City this summer just a year after the club sold him to PSV Eindhoven in a surprise move. Guardiola isn't set on his first choice left back with Aleks Zinchenko, Benjamin Mendy and now Angelino all vying for the spot.
The 22-year-old told reporters he wants to make the position his own but he did little on the tour to prove he could take it.
City's defence, in disappointingly similar vein to Liverpool's, did not look particularly convincing during their pre-season campaign and the club are believed to be looking at centre-backs and a right-back but face a race against time to sort any deal out before the transfer window slams shut and it is a realistic possibility that no new faces will come in to bolster their backline.
There is also some unrest at the other end of the pitch for Guardiola too with Leroy Sane being tempted away by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and City telling the German winger that they won't prevent him from moving if he wants to.
Better preparation?
Liverpool might have lost against the likes of Dortmund and Napoli but they are two sides who both finished second in their respective and respected leagues last season and should give the Reds better preparation heading into the next campaign.
Klopp is also extremely happy with his side and the Reds are a much more settled outfit than their Manchester adversaries which should help in theory with getting the win on Sunday in the Community Shield.
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