Arsenal Faces Manchester City in Community Shield Clash This Sunday
Premier League champions Arsenal will take on Manchester City, the winners of the FA Cup, in the highly anticipated Community Shield match on Sunday.
This season’s curtain-raiser will occur at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, a change from its usual Wembley location due to a series of concerts by The Weeknd at the London venue.
Arsenal claimed their first league title in 22 years last May, finishing seven points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Coach Mikel Arteta aims to continue the momentum as his team seeks to defend their championship.
City enters the new season with a fresh face in Enzo Maresca at the helm following a successful decade under Guardiola. However, the club faces potential sanctions that linger over their start to the campaign.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the Community Shield?
The match between Arsenal and Manchester City is set for 3pm BST today, Sunday, August 16, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
How to watch
The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports in the UK. Viewers can also stream the match online via the HBO Max app and website.
Team news
Arsenal will start the new season missing key centre-back William Saliba, who is sidelined with a back injury sustained during the World Cup. Jurrien Timber is also out with an injury, and his return is expected to take “weeks,” according to Arteta.
Manchester City will be without Rodri, who underwent minor back surgery after captaining Spain to World Cup victory. Abdukodir Khusanov recently missed a friendly with Atletico Madrid for personal reasons.
Both teams may lack strength due to several key players who are still resting after the World Cup.
For City, Erling Haaland, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, recent signing Elliot Anderson, Rayan Cherki, and Jeremy Doku have only just resumed training and might not feature in the match.
Similarly, Arsenal’s Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, David Raya, and Martin Zubimendi find themselves in a comparable situation, having had limited training time recently.
Possible line-ups
Arsenal: Kepa; White, Salmon, Gabriel, Hincapie; Bruno Guimaraes, Odegaard, Eze; Dowman, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Manchester City: Donnarumma; Ait-Nouri, Gvardiola, Dias, Nunes; Kovacic, Gonzalez; Semenyo, Foden, Echeverri; Marmoush.
Prediction
This matchup presents a tough call due to the rotated line-ups and the disrupted pre-seasons following the World Cup. Arsenal is slightly favored, predicted to win 2-1.
Premier League champions Arsenal take on FA Cup winners Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
The curtain-raiser to the Premier League season takes place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, relocated from its usual home at Wembley due to a series of concerts by The Weeknd at the London venue.
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Arsenal won their first league title for 22 years when they finished top of the pile in May, seven points clear of Pep Guardiola’s City, and Mikel Arteta will hope to pick up where they left off as they bid to defend their crown.
City, who beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final, begin a new era under Enzo Maresca after a decade of success led by Guardiola – although the club begin the new season with the threat of possible sanctions still hanging over them.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the Community Shield?
Arsenal take on Manchester City at 3pm BST today, Sunday 16 August, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
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How to watch
The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports in the UK. Subscribers can watch online via the HBO Max app and website.
Team news
The Gunners will start the new campaign without key centre-back William Saliba after the France international suffered a back injury during the World Cup. Jurrien Timber is also injured and his return is “weeks away”, according to Arteta.
Manchester City are without Rodri, who underwent minor back surgery at the end of July after captaining Spain to World Cup glory. Abdukodir Khusanov missed the recent friendly against Atletico Madrid for personal reasons.
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But both sides are likely to be understrength as a result of key players resting following the World Cup.
For City, Erling Haaland, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, new signing Elliot Anderson, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku have only recently returned to training and are unlikely to start the game.
For Arsenal, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, David Raya and Martin Zubimendi are in a similar position, with only a few days’ training under their belts.
Possible line-ups
Arsenal: Kepa; White, Salmon, Gabriel, Hincapie; Bruno Guimaraes, Odegaard, Eze; Dowman, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
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Manchester City: Donnarumma; Ait-Nouri, Gvardiola, Dias, Nunes; Kovacic, Gonzalez; Semenyo, Foden, Echeverri; Marmoush.
Prediction
A difficult game to call, given the rotated line-ups on show and the unsettled pre-seasons following the World Cup. We give Arsenal a slight edge here, to win 2-1.
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