It’s back and hardly seems to have been away.

City vs Liverpool. Pep vs Klopp round 265?

The top two managers in world football cross swords yet again, this time in the traditional Community Shield curtain-raiser to the coming EPL season.

And ‘shield’ is the operative word: they won’t want to reveal too much and those swords are likely to remain in their scabbards.

Still, when the stage is Wembley stadium and the curtains are velvet, neither will want to lose.

It could be Pep’s final season while it’s the first since Klopp extended his contract.

For both managers, this campaign will have a huge bearing on the legacies they eventually leave.

Their two titanic clashes in the league last season were of an intensity that had even neutrals checking their blood pressure.

This time, besides hoping someone can catch them, the whole of football will be looking to see if a gap has developed between the two.

Although City have won four to one out of the last five titles, the closeness of the margins – one point on two occasions – and Liverpool’s three Champions League finals to City’s none – suggest there’s still almost nothing in it.

Both bosses have spent big on strikers this summer to gain an edge.

The arrivals of Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez have been massive statements of intent.

But neither is likely to play the full 90 minutes.

It’s an extra-long season ahead and both arrived with injury niggles, not to mention doubts about their first touch.

Typical of how both managers carefully bed in certain players, they may have to wait a game or two to be up to speed.

But both are laden with goals and seeing them given old-fashioned centre-forward roles is a mouthwatering prospect.

Even if they’re kept under wraps, it will only add to the intrigue.

Liverpool were shocked to lose Sadio Mane but may have added a new dimension to their attack with Nunez’s heading ability.

Their lack of height up front in recent years has meant they’ve not fully exploited the crossing ability of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.

Nunez lacks Mane’s pedigree but football will be looking to see if, seven years younger and with more than half his fee recouped from the Senegalese’s sale, his signing will strengthen Liverpool overall.

Encouraging the general optimism are early signs that Mo Salah, with contract finally signed, has rediscovered his sharpness.

Bobby Firminho has also impressed while exciting new signing Fabio Carvalho has probably been the star of pre-season.

All in all, with Luis Diaz having half a season behind him, and Diogo Jota hoping to shake off his injuries, Klopp has never had so many options up front.

His use of three teams in a match suggests that he’s giving everybody a chance and puts the lessons learned above results in pre-season affairs.

When asked after losing to City in a warm-up game in 2018 if he’d conceded a psychological advantage, he just laughed it off.

But City did go on to win back-to-back titles.

It didn’t stop him experimenting against Manchester United in Bangkok even if it meant conceding a 4-0 defeat to the eternal rivals.

Devils’ fans weren’t slow to exploit that but Klopp put more value on having a look at some 37 players.

The comings and goings may have turned the Rajamangala stadium into Grand Central Station.

But among the young gems uncovered was Stefan Bajcetic, an exciting teenage midfielder whom many fans had not heard of.

Another defeat to RB Salzburg this week was shrugged off as Klopp continued to give game time to as many players as possible.

A week’s hard training in Austria has the players fit and ready to roll. And it’s a squad that the German manager has already described as the best he’s ever had.

Guardiola is similar in putting preparation before results in pre-season. And given City’s relatively late start, the Catalan seems to be already playing the long game.

He has added to his midfield by bringing in Kalvin Phillips from Leeds with the England international likely to be a back up to Rodri.

But with recruitment not yet completed – a 30 million pounds bid for Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella was rejected – he doesn’t yet have all the pieces of the jig-saw, let alone putting them together.

But there have been signs that Jack Grealish is finally getting the hang of the Pep style and even forming an understanding with Haaland in the little time the Norwegian has played.

And Guardiola is confident enough in his squad to allow established names such as Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus leave for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.

Not quite enough to allow Nathan Ake to follow Sterling to Stamford Bridge but he seems to feel he has enough firepower up front.

And perhaps a reflection of how little he feels of any threat from the Gunners, he also let Oleksandr Zinchenko go to the Emirates.

As for the rivalry with Klopp, it is really a case of familiarity breeding respect.

Media attempts to promote either a niggle or a matey relationship have failed.

Pep has called it “a beautiful relationship”, but it’s businesslike rather than buddy-buddy.

Klopp says: “Us Europeans are not used to it (meeting up post-match). Pep and I have never had a beer afterwards.”

They probably won’t on this occasion but we fans should have our appetites well and truly whetted.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.