It seems like only a few days ago we were celebrating the PL and FA Cup winners, but the new football season is already upon us. After a summer of international tournaments, clubs are back in action, pre-season tours are coming to an end and friendlies are plentiful.
But now it’s time to get back to business as we kick off another season in England. The season will begin as the previous one ended, with a battle between the two Manchester clubs while the Community Shield will be another battle between Man Utd and Man City. The previous meeting in May had been a surprise 2-1 victory for United, a result few expected and which probably saved manager Erik Ten Hag’s job.
Could Man City’s Community Shield woes continue?
This time around the prize is less prestigious than the FA Cup, with most viewing the Community Shield as nothing more than a glorified friendly. However, with these two teams taking the field, it is unlikely that either coach will view this as a friendly and want to score a goal. City will want to reassert their superiority over their neighbors while United hope to add another piece of silverware to their cabinet and show that winning the FA Cup is no fluke. For some reason, Manchester City have struggled to win this competition in recent years, winning just six of their fifteen appearances in this encounter. No team has lost four Community Shields in a row since Manchester United between 1998 and 2001, but that is what City will face if they fail to get the better of United this time around.
Man Utd – What to expect
Manchester United have a good overall record in the Community Shield, with twenty-one wins and nine defeats. However, in a sign of their difficult years, this will be their first appearance since 2016, when José Mourinho was in charge. They are on a good winning streak, however, having won their last four appearances in the season opener, with a 3-2 win over City in 2011 included in that streak. The knives were out for United manager Erik Ten Hag at the end of last season, with their poor overall performance and disappointing end to the season meaning they finished a lowly eighth place. The FA Cup victory not only secured the Dutchman two trophies in two seasons, but also secured European football this season and appeased the owners and fans. Pre-season hasn’t been the best for the Red Devils, however, and injury concerns are once again a feature heading into the new season. Leny Yoro and Rasmus Højlund are players who will definitely miss this game, but it is hoped that Mason Mount can have a consistent run in the team and Jadon Sancho has been reinstated into the team.
Man City – What to expect
Manchester City had a positive end to their pre-season with a 4-2 win over Chelsea and they will be hoping for a change of fortune in this match. They sold Julian Alvarez, so they may be a little light on striker options, but they have reinvested that money in a number of young players. Uncertainty surrounds some of their older players, with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Ederson reportedly keen to leave the club for new adventures. Manager Pep Guardiola has said that this will be his last season at Manchester City and so he will surely want to go out with a bang and get his hands on as many trophies as possible, starting with this one.
Final Thoughts
Four of the last seven Community Shield matches have been decided on penalties and given the intense rivalry between these two, that is once again a possibility. Marcus Rashford is a player who has something to prove this season and he could be asked to start this game after missing England’s big tournament this summer, with Jack Grealish being another player with a point to prove. It remains to be seen how many players involved in the latter stages of this summer’s international tournament will be involved in this encounter.
Manchester United have won three of the last ten meetings while City have won the other seven, so the recent dominance clearly belongs to the blue team. There has been no draw in the last ten meetings, with the last one coming in December 2020 in a league match at Old Trafford.
Naturally, Manchester City are the favorites to win, although the prize is not as close as in the FA Cup final in May and we all know what happened there.
Last update: 08.08.24
