Manchester City won’t be at full-strength for this Wembley showdown, although it hasn’t stopped the bookies from making them strong favourites to win this Community Shield match. Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish are likely starters for the champions as they aim to lay down a marker ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Pep Guardiola will want to see his team put up a strong performance and make amends for that defeat in the FA Cup final where Manchester United scored two early goals before getting the job done. It’s interesting that the match prices for this clash are roughly similar to the ones that we saw for that clash a few months ago.
Erik ten Hag has been backed by the United owners who will hope that the Dutchman can start building a title-winning side and there are reasons to be cheerful. Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo are players that can form the mainstay of a team who also have Bruno Fernandes driving them forward, with Rasmus Hojlund also having firepower.
We think this could be an open clash and it might be worth betting on both teams to score, although some might feel that Manchester United are too big a price to get the job done. Ten Hag has shown that he’s often the man for the big occasion and the Red Devils could be worth backing on the Asian Handicap market.