Man City to play Liverpool at King Power stadium in the Community Shield

Manchester City and Liverpool's meeting in the Community Shield next season will take place at Leicester's King Power stadium, it has been confirmed.

Wembley, which usually stages the traditional season curtain raiser, is unable to do this year as it is hosting the Women's European Championship final on Sunday 31 July.

Sportsmail revealed earlier this month that the King Power was the frontrunner to replace Wembley after edging ahead of Elland Road, Villa Park, the Emirates Stadium and the London Stadium.

And now Leicester's 32,261-seat home ground has been confirmed as the hosts of next season's showpiece, which will take place at 5pm on Saturday 30 July.

Foxes chief executive Susan Whelan said: 'Being able to host such a prestigious fixture in our stadium is fantastic news for the city and further underlines Leicester City's long-term commitment to establish Leicestershire as a home for high-profile sporting events.

'On behalf of the football club, I'd like to thank the FA and all stakeholders who have worked with us on making this possible.

'We look forward to welcoming teams and supporters from Manchester City and Liverpool to the city in July.'

The 2022 Community Shield, pitting last season's Premier League and FA Cup winners against each other, will be broadcast live on ITV for viewers in the UK.

It is going ahead a week earlier than usual due to this year's winter World Cup in Qatar, with the new Premier League season due to begin on August 6.

When choosing an alternative to Wembley, the FA was mindful of the controversy surrounding Liverpool and City's meeting in the FA Cup semi-final, which was played at the national stadium on a weekend when there were no direct rail services to London.

Leeds' Elland Road initially appeared in pole position to stage it, while Arsenal and West Ham also expressed their interest in doing so.

Yet in the end Leicester, who won last year's Community Shield, saw their smaller venue pip the three clubs to the event.

City booked their place in next season's Community Shield by producing a sensational final-day comeback against Aston Villa to win the Premier League title.

Needing a victory to keep their noses above Liverpool, Pep Guardiola's side looked set to blow it when they fell two goals behind at home to Villa.

That was before a strike from Rodri and substitute Ilkay Gundogan's brace completed a miraculous five-minute turnaround for City and ensured the Reds' win over Wolves counted for nothing.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the title, and losing last weekend's Champions League final, Liverpool still ended the season with two trophies after winning the League Cup and FA Cup, with the latter triumph earning them Community Shield qualification.