City have lost their last three Community Shields, but are determined to avenge their defeat to Man Utd in the FA Cup final.
* Man City – Man Utd: 9pm today August 10, on VnExpress.
Man City have won the Premier League for the last four seasons, but have failed to win the Community Shield – the opening match of the season. However, the last five teams to win the Community Shield have failed to win the Premier League. That is the “curse” that Pep Guardiola’s team is considered most capable of breaking.
Man Utd defeated Man City 2-1 in the FA Cup final last season. Photo: Reuters
However, Man City’s attitude and determination in this match are still questionable. Last season, there were times when this team lacked the desire to win. Whether Man City can maintain their momentum after seasons full of trophies is a matter of concern for English football fans, and today’s match at Wembley partly shows that.
Erling Haaland is perhaps the player most looking forward to the start of the season in the Man City squad . The Norwegian striker is not playing in Euro 2024 so is fully focused on pre-season. He just scored a hat-trick against Chelsea, and has scored six goals and assisted three in six games against Man Utd.
This is also an opportunity for Man City to avenge their 1-2 loss to Man Utd in the FA Cup final last season. Opta ‘s supercomputer predicts Man City to have a 61.3% chance of winning, while Man Utd’s chance of winning is only 19.8%. The Community Shield will not have extra time, and the computer predicts an 18.9% chance of the two teams going to a penalty shootout.
“This is an important match, a final against Man Utd. But another important part is that Man City are trying to streamline the squad step by step. This will be an opportunity for most of the players, including the young players, to show themselves on a big stage. We will play our best,” Guardiola affirmed.
Last season’s FA Cup final win over Man City was crucial in keeping Erik ten Hag in his job. However, that is not enough to appease the criticism of the Red Devils’ disappointing 2022-23 season. They need an impressive performance against Man City to create psychological momentum for the upcoming journey. On the contrary, a heavy defeat could cause Man Utd to fall into crisis.
“We know we can beat Man City and no matter what the result is, that belief will not change. The FA Cup final is more important than this match. However, we want to win and show that we can beat Man City at any time,” said Ten Hag.
Man Utd played five friendlies in the summer of 2024. They lost to Rosenborg, Arsenal, Liverpool and won against Rangers, Real Betis. Meanwhile, Man City lost to Celtic, Milan, drew with Barca and won against Chelsea.
This is the eighth time in history that Man City and Man Utd have met in the Community Shield after meeting in the FA Cup final. Seven of those eight times, the FA Cup winners have won. Man Utd have won the Community Shield 21 times, more than any other team. In their previous two Community Shield meetings , Man Utd have beaten Man City.
The match promises to be the debut of expensive new recruits. On the Man Utd side is Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee, who has just transferred from Bologna. However, the “Red Devils” will be without center-back Leny Yorro because the new recruit was injured in the friendly match with Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Man City’s most promising new signing this summer is winger Savinho, who is expected to be the second Jeremy Doku with his ability to harass and play well on both wings. Not only the new players, this match also promises the return of the “supporting actors”, in the context that the two teams’ pillars have not returned. Jadon Sancho is regaining his best playing form after being given a chance by Ten Hag. On the other side of the front line, Oscar Bobb is very confident after an impressive performance in Man City’s pre-season friendly series.