The 2024 Community Shield will be on the line when Manchester City and Manchester United clash at Wembley on Saturday.
2024/25 is upon us, and the English season will officially kick off on Saturday with the FA Community Shield match-up. Manchester City and Manchester United will face off in their third Wembley meeting in less than 18 months when they lock horns in the re-match of the FA Cup final from a few months ago.
Both clubs had mixed-bag pre-season campaigns in the last few weeks, with Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag missing a few pivotal figures. Manchester City suffered three losses in four games but cruised to a 4-2 win over Chelsea in the most recent match-up ahead of the Community Shield tie.
Celtic, AC Milan and Barcelona (on penalties) beat Pep Guardiola’s men, although those results do not shed much light on how Manchester City will fare in the 2024/25 season. As for Manchester United, they played five matches during their pre-season campaign.
Like Manchester City, the Red Devils suffered three defeats, going down to FK Rosenborg, Arsenal, and Liverpool. However, Manchester United also clinched two wins, beating Rangers and Real Betis. However, the concerns over the fragility of their midfield unit remain, while they have already lost a few players to injuries, including new signing Leny Yoro.
Manchester City and Manchester United set up the Community Shield tie by winning the Premier League and FA Cup titles, respectively. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the first meeting between the two sides this season.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has a few pivotal figures missing before his squad returns to Wembley for the FA Community Shield this weekend. Against Manchester United on Saturday, the Manchester City manager might be bereft of the services of five first-team players.
Guardiola is sweating over the fitness of Ederson Moraes, who missed the friendly against Chelsea with a niggle. Meanwhile, UEFA Euro 2024 finalists Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, and John Stones are yet to resume first-team training and will not take on Manchester United. Meanwhile, Julian Alvarez is on his way to Atletico Madrid.
Stefan Ortega will be the automatic pick between the sticks if Ederson is not fit enough to star. Manchester City will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the German international against Manchester United, with Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, and Josko Gvardiol forming the backline.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne in the double pivot. So, Bernardo Silva will reprise the no. 10 role, with De Bruyne being the deep-lying playmaker. Finally, Erling Haaland should lead the line for Manchester City against Manchester United, with Oscar Bobb and Jack Grealish completing the numbers in the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, De Bruyne; Bobb, Bernardo Silva, Grealish; Haaland
Manchester United
Like his counterpart in the Manchester City dugout, Erik ten Hag has a few fitness issues hampering his preparations ahead of the trip to Wembley. The Manchester United manager might be without seven first-team players.
Leny Yoro (foot), Rasmus Hojlund (hamstring), and Tyrell Malacia (knee) are on the sidelines with their respective injuries. In addition, Erik ten Hag is sweating over the fitness of defensive quartet Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw. The Red Devils will assess the quartet ahead of Saturday’s kick-off.
Andre Onana is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Manchester City. The backline should feature Diogo Dalot, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martinez, and Harry Amass.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, who has returned early from his vacation. Bruno Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, while Joshua Zirkzee should spearhead the Manchester United attack. Marcus Rashford and the in-form Amad Diallo will complete the numbers in the final third, with Jadon Sancho and Antony being options on the bench.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Evans, Martinez, Amass; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee
Key Stats
- Saturday’s fixture will be the eighth time in the history of the Community Shield that the match will be a repeat of the previous season’s FA Cup final, after 1957 (Manchester United vs Aston Villa), 1977 (Manchester United vs Liverpool), 1985 (Everton vs Manchester United), 1986 (Everton vs Liverpool), 1988 (Liverpool vs Wimbledon), 2007 (Manchester United vs Chelsea) and 2017 (Arsenal vs Chelsea).
- Of the last eight occasions the Community Shield has been between the previous season’s champions and FA Cup winners, the team to have won the FA Cup has won the shield seven times, with the exception being Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Chelsea in 2018.
- Manchester City have competed in the last three Community Shield games. However, they have not won any of those fixtures. Manchester United were the last team to lose four in a row (1998-2001).
- Including shared victories, Manchester United have won the Community Shield more often than any other club (21), and they have won the trophy in their last four appearances.
- Kobbie Mainoo can become only the second player to score in the FA Cup final and subsequent Community Shield match as a teenager, after Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in 1998.
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland will have a point to prove in the 2024/25 season, even though he won the Golden Boot for a second successive campaign last term. While the Norwegian international took home the trophy again, he was not in the blistering touch that made him a fearsome prospect for his opponents.
Meanwhile, Haaland has been involved in nine goals in six appearances against Manchester United (six goals, three assists). The 24-year-old was top-notch in Manchester City’s pre-season campaign, most recently netting a hat-trick against Chelsea in the 4-2 win in Columbus. However, he is yet to have a goal involvement in four appearances at Wembley and will be eager to correct that record on Saturday.
Prediction
Manchester City 3-1 Manchester United
Neither team looked too impressive during the pre-season campaign, although Manchester City made amends against Chelsea. On the other hand, Liverpool eased to a 3-0 win in Manchester United’s last pre-season fixture, suggesting the Red Devils have some problems ahead of the 2024/25 season.
However, Manchester United showed in the FA Cup final that Erik ten Hag can set his team up for a cup final, which Saturday’s match essentially is, even though it is a glorified friendly. But Manchester City should exorcise the demons of the dreadful Wembley date a few weeks ago and cruise to a 3-1 win, with Manchester United struggling to get their combination right before the new season gets underway.
