Home of football statistics and historyManchester City and Arsenal will have the chance to lay down an early marker when they meet in the English football’s season opener – the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s side ended last season in a celebratory mood after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
The Gunners were their nearest challengers in the English top flight, but were overhauled on the run-in as Man City powered clear.
City are bidding to win the Community Shield for the first time since 2019 having lost the last two editions against Leicester City and Liverpool.
Arsenal triumphed over Liverpool in 2020 to get their hands on the prize for the 16th time – ten more than City have collected during their history.
The game will be broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV, while supporters elsewhere can access the game through a wide range of live sports streaming platforms.
Manchester City eyeing a quick start
Last season’s treble-winners will head into the Community Shield eager to demonstrate they have lost none of their thirst for silverware.
Guardiola will be keen to guard against complacency, particularly with some pundits tipping Arsenal to topple them in the Premier League this term.
Man City have lost a couple of key players from their squad, with Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez exiting the Etihad Stadium this summer.
However, midfielder Mateo Kovacic has arrived from Chelsea, while a big-money move for centre-back Josko Gvardiol is close to being completed.
Despite the mini shake-up, Guardiola still has a formidable squad at his disposal and they will once again be the team to beat this season.
City have won the Community Shield twice under Guardiola and he will be eager to complete the hat-trick against the Gunners.
His spiky nature will likely result in him being niggled at suggestions his team could be overtaken by Arsenal this season, which should manifest itself in City’s performance.
Their only previous Community Shield encounter against Arsenal in the 21st century resulted in a 3-0 defeat in 2014, but they will fancy their chances this time around.
Jesus absence a blow to Arsenal’s hopes
Arsenal made a flying start to last season to spark talk of winning the Premier League title, but they ultimately ran out of steam towards the end of the campaign.
They have splashed out around £200 million on three new transfers this summer – Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.
The Gunners have paid over half of that sum to sign Rice from West Ham United and there will plenty of pressure on the midfielder to perform.
However, he has a penchant for going missing in big games so it will be intriguing to see how he performs against City’s star-studded midfield.
Arsenal’s hopes of victory this weekend have been dealt a blow, with striker Gabriel Jesus set to miss the start of the season after undergoing a minor surgical procedure.
Their form has been patchy during pre-season and they will need to step things up against a City team that had their number last term.
They two sides met on three occasions last season, with the Cityzens winning the trio of fixtures by an aggregate 8-2 scoreline.
Arsenal will be desperate to snap that streak this weekend to demonstrate they can mount a serious challenge to Man City’s supremacy.
Predicted starting line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Erling Braut Haaland.
Arsenal: Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah.
Community Shield prediction
City are the favourites to win the Community Shield and they are fancied to get the job done against an Arsenal team that has been inconsistent during pre-season.
Rice looks vastly overpriced at more than £100m and will need to produce some spectacular performances to justify the fee.
Havertz also has plenty to prove following a disappointing spell at Chelsea, especially with Mikel Arteta playing him in a new position.
Man City have a far more settled starting XI right now and are strongly fancied to record a comfortable victory this weekend.
Manchester City 3-1 Arsenal.
0 Comments