Liverpool & Manchester City, Donovan To Retire, Champions League Playoff Draw, Community Shield Preview, The Joy of Six

There goes another week, eh? Time has flown and we're almost ready to get things going again. There's a trophy on offer Sunday as Manchester City and Arsenal play for the Charity Community Shield. That's on the television at 10am EDT on Fox Sports 1. Barney Ronay reckons that Alexis Sánchez could be the perfect fit for Arsène Wenger. And here's a little 50-50 Challenge for the two clubs. And here's a position-by-position comparison.

Speaking of Arsenal, they've learned their Champions League Playoff opponents. They are...Besiktas. Turkey awaits. Elsewhere, Celtic crashed out but earned a reprieve because the Poles fielded an ineligible player! Here's the draw (Napoli/Bilbao could be tasty):

Maribor v Celtic

Red Bull Salzburg v Malmo

Aalborg v Apoel Nicosia

Steaua Bucuresti v Ludogorets

Slovan Bratislava v Bate

Besiktas v Arsenal

Standard Liège v Zenit St Petersburg

FC Copenhagen v Bayer Leverkusen

Lille v Porto

Napoli v Athletic Bilbao

Ties to be played 19-20 and 26-27 August

Today's Premier League previews feature a couple of heavyweights carrying massive expectations. Will City repeat? How will Liverpool fare without The Cannibal? Check it:

Liverpool

Manchester City

Everyone's favorite former Spurs coach is back. Coach Lasso has a new gig with the St. Catherine's Fighting Owls. Who? Fighting Owls!

The Joy of Six! The Joy of Six! The Joy of Six! The Joy of Six! The Joy of Six! The Joy of Six! Sorry, it's been awhile and we got excited. This week it's...football purple patches (or periods of utter footballing brilliance). You like numbers? Try this Top Tenner. EPL players with a point to prove.

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

The Championship gets underway tomorrow. Twenty-four teams, 46 matches, three prized places in the Premier League, indeed. Did you know there are 12 dudes who played in the World Cup who will play in the Championship this year? Gonzalo Jara, Kenneth Omeruo, Lee Chung-Yong, Roger Espinoza, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Yun Suk-Young, Essaid Belkalem, Jean Beausejour, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Park Chu-Young, Albert Adomah, Riayd Mahrez. Thank you, The BBC.

Jozy Altidore. Dude had an awful year. Can he turn it around?

As noted and previewed yesterday, League Uhhhh kicks off this weekend, as well. Here's another preview, this time from Paul Doyle.

And finally...Landon Donovan announced he'll retire. Brian Strauss provides the first of what will surely be plenty of articles.

Onward!!

-SSN