MANCHESTER CITY begin life as Treble winners when they take on Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s men became just the second team in English football history to claim the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same campaign.
In doing so, they chased down Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side and overhauled them late in the season to clinch a fifth Premier League crown in six years.
And it remains to be seen how the Gunners will recover from that mental knock.
Arteta has added a trio of stars to his squad in the form of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.
Meanwhile, Man City have lost Ilkay Gundogan and replaced him with Mateo Kovacic.
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Riyad Mahrez also departed the Etihad for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
Yet despite those exits, City will come into this one feeling supremely confident as they beat Arsenal three times in all competitions last season.
They also head into it knowing Arsenal are only in the match because they finished behind them in the Premier League.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the clash.
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Who will be the star men?
Man City – Erling Haaland
It goes without saying that Erling Haaland, 23, remains Man City’s main man heading into the new season.
He set a new Premier League record in his first campaign in England with a remarkable 36 goals in 35 games – and 52 in all competitions.
But he did fail to hit the back of the net against Liverpool in last year’s Community Shield – so he is almost certainly going to put that right this time around.
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka was one of many bright sparks during Arsenal’s 2022/23 season.
The England international, 21, played every Premier League game, netting 14 goals and providing a further 11 assists.
Arsenal supporters will be expecting him to hit the ground running in Sunday’s curtain raiser.
Team news
Man City are missing just one player from the XI that started the Champions League final victory over Inter Milan – Gundogan.
The German joined Barcelona at the end of the season after his contract expired – with new man Kovacic expected to come in for him.
Arsenal’s £105m man Rice will go straight into the Gunners’ midfield for Granit Xhaka – who has left for Bayer Leverkusen – with Havertz also expected to start.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has struggled for minutes during pre-season due to an injury, meaning new signing Timber could be utilised as a makeshift left-back.
Predicted line-ups
Man City
Arsenal
SunSport prediction
Man City had Arsenal’s number last season as they beat them 4-1 home and away in the Premier League – while also knocking them out of the FA Cup.
But Arteta’s men will be fired up for this one as they look to prove they are still title challengers despite a dismal end to the campaign.
So expect this one to be an entertaining, competitive affair – with Man City still edging it.
Man City 3-2 Arsenal (AET)
When is the Community Shield?
- The Community Shield will take place on Sunday, August 6th.
- Kick off will be at 4pm BST.
- Wembley Stadium will play host.
What TV channel is the Community Shield on?
- The Community Shield will be broadcast live on ITV 1.
- Coverage will begin at 3:15pm BST.
- Mark Pougatch will be joined by Roy Keane and Emma Hayes to present the Community Shield on ITV 1.
How do I live stream the Community Shield FREE?
- You can live stream the Community Shield for FREE via the ITVX website/app.
- The ITVX app can be downloaded for FREE on to your mobile or tablet.
- Alternatively, you can keep up to date with all the action by following SunSport’s live blog.
Odds
Match result:
- Man City – 8/11
- Draw – 14/5
- Arsenal – 7/2
To lift the trophy:
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- Man City: 4/11
- Arsenal: 19/10
Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and are correct at the time of publication…
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
