FA Community Shield: Manchester United v Manchester City - Match Preview, Tips & Odds
Here at betting.bet we’ll offer the latest team news, match insights and betting tips as well as the latest match odds
The domestic football season’s annual curtain raiser takes place this weekend as Wembley Stadium hosts the FA Community Shield on Saturday afternoon. Last season’s Premier League champions Manchester City contest their four successive Community Shield when they take on fierce rivals and last season’s FA Cup winners Manchester United. As we look ahead to a hotly-anticpated Wembley fixture, here at betting.bet we’ll offer the latest team news, match insights and football betting tips as well as the latest match odds from our partners at Ladbrokes.
FA Community Shield History & Records
The FA Community Shield was established as the Charity Shield way back in 1908 and is traditionally contested by the winners of England’s top-flight league and FA Cup from the previous season. Whenever a club has completed a league/cup double, the match has been contested by the highest two finishers in the league from the following season.
Manchester United hold the record for both total appearances (30) and wins (21) but have not appeared in the fixture since defeating Leicester City in 2016. Manchester City’s last Community Shield win came in 2019 whilst last season they became the first side to lose three straight Community Shield matches since Manchester United lost four in a row between 1998 and 2001.
Team News
Manchester United have been rocked by a couple of significant pre-season injuries with Rasmus Hojlund and summer signing Leny Yoro both set to miss the start of the season. The Red Devils may also be without the likes of Harry Maguire, Viktor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka but have been boosted by an injury-free summer for Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.
In the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, Erik ten Hag has experimented with Jadon Sancho as a makeshift centre forward but new signing Joshua Zirkzee is likely to lead the line at Wembley on Saturday.
Manchester City are likely to line up without a number of first-teamers with Euro 2024 finalists Rodri, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker all yet to start their pre-season training and Erling Haaland, Ederson and Rice Lewis all picking up injuries during their USA tour.
Predicted Line Ups
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford, Zirkzee
Manchester City: Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, De Bruyne, Kovacic, Bobb, Silva, Grealish, Haaland
Manchester United v Manchester City: Head-to-Head
Manchester United have qualified for this weekend’s Community Shield thanks to a shock 2-1 win over Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup final. Youngsters Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo gave United a 2-0 half-time lead before Jeremy Doku pulled a goal back late on for City.
Manchester City have had the upperhand in most recent matches between these cross-city rivals, winning six of their last eight matches against Manchester United. Their last Community Shield meeting came in 2011 with the red half of Manchester coming from two goals down to edge a five-goal thriller. Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko gave City a 2-0 half-time lead before Chris Smalling and Nani (two) turned the tie in United’s favour.
Betting Tips
The Community Shield rarely offers too much of an insight into the season ahead with only nine previous match winners going on to win the Premier League that same season. As both sides look to use the game as a way of improving their squad fitness ahead of the return of the Premier League next week, the strength of their respective lineups may dictate the outcome of this. We’re expecting Manchester United to field a considerably stronger starting XI with Manchester City likely to start several fringe players at Wembley. This makes Manchester United excellent value at 19/5 to win the Community Shield.
Joshua Zirkzee is set to lead the line for Manchester United and will be well-backed to kick off his tenure at the Red Devils with a goal however we’re tipping a more established name to fire his side to glory on Saturday. Marcus Rashford is likely to start on the left for Manchester United and this is certainly a position we feel he’s most effective. Rashford received a well-earned rest over the summer having been left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad and we’re tipping him to come out firing this season. Rashford is 10/1 to score first or 10/3 to score at any time on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides could be without several first-choice defenders on Saturday. Whilst Manchester United could line up without Maguire, Lindelof, Yoro and Wan-Bissaka, Manchester City will be without stalwarts Kyle Walker, John Stones and Rodri. These likely absentees could result in a wide-open contest full of goals. Both teams to score seems nailed on at 8/15 whilst over 3.5 match goals looks excellent value at 11/10.
Where To Watch The FA Community Shield
The FA Community Shield will be contested at Wembley Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 3pm local time. The match will be televised live on ITV1 and ITVX.
Match Odds
| Manchester United | Draw | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| 19/5 | 17/5 | 3/5 |
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