Manchester City vs Arsenal
06 August 2023 – 17:00
After two consecutive shield defeats, Man City will hope it’s third time lucky against the plucky Gunners.
Traditionally, the winners of the Premier League and FA Cup meet for the chance to win the first silverware of the new season. However, treble winning Manchester City will face the Gunners, who finished runners-up last season.
Arsenal was on course to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 and sat top of the table for almost 250 days. However, a calamitous collapse in April saw them win just three points from four games. This handed the initiative to City, and they took full advantage and clinched their fifth league title in six years.
The iconic Premiership curtain raiser returns to the home of football, Wembley. Last season’s Community Shield was played at the King Power Stadium, due to the Women’s Euro tournament. City lost that clash to Liverpool, 3-1. Pep Guardiola and his troops will be heavily favoured to clinch the shield against Arsenal this Sunday – who will be making their 24th appearance in this match.
We can expect both Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola to start relatively strong teams. Both clubs have had a good pre-season and will be eager to get their hands on the shield.
Gunners’ fans will get to see the likes of record signing Declan Rice. The former West Ham star is set to play a vital role in Arsenal’s campaigns going forward and he’ll want to make a positive lasting first impression. Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz will also be available to make their debuts.
Gabriel Jesus will be out for a few weeks after undergoing knee surgery, so Eddie Nketiah could lead the line. Fabio Vieira, Takehiro Tomiyasu, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli have all come through pre-season and could feature after overcoming various issues.
Erling Haaland is still fresh to the football world, and we could see him let loose from kick-off. Kevin De Bruyne remains doubtful after he missed all of pre-season. Mateo Kovacic could make his official debut for the defending champions having completed his move from Chelsea earlier this summer.
We can expect end-to-end action as both teams will play attacking football at it’s best. It will be exciting for the neutrals. They’ll get to see what the top two contenders for this season’s Premier League have in store for the rest of the chasing pack.
Difficult to see City fail to win the for the third consecutive time. They should be able to secure the SHIELD within the 90 minutes.
BEST BET – MAN CITY WIN & BOTH TEAMS SCORE @ 2/1
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