Leicester's King Power Stadium has emerged as the frontrunner to host next season’s Community Shield.
A final decision is yet to be made but insiders have disclosed that the 32,261-seat venue has edged ahead of Elland Road, Villa Park, the Emirates Stadium and the London Stadium.
Wembley is unavailable on July 31 because it is hosting the women’s European Championship final.
The Community Shield will see the winners of the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea face the Premier League champions, either Manchester City or Liverpool. If Liverpool win both, they would face second-placed City.
In choosing an alternative to Wembley, the FA are mindful of the furore over the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and City, which saw thousands of empty seats in the City section because the game was played on a weekend when there were no direct rail services to London from Manchester or Liverpool.
At one stage it looked as if Leeds’ Elland Road, which can accommodate 37,792, was in pole position but sources have disclosed that Leicester’s slightly smaller ground is now the favourite.
The Premier League will start earlier than usual on August 6 next season, because of the break for the winter World Cup in Qatar.
The women’s Euros final will be played at Wembley the previous Sunday.
Arsenal and the London Stadium expressed early interest in stepping in, but their offers now seem unlikely to be successful.
In 2012, Villa Park hosted the fixture — Manchester City’s 3-2 defeat of Chelsea — when Wembley was being used for the London Olympics, and Villa were keen on a repeat this summer. They, too, are likely to be disappointed. The FA declined to comment.