Man City-Man Utd: All you need to know about Community Shield

Premier League champions Manchester City meet FA Cup winners Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday in the Community Shield (15:00 BST) – the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season.

The fixture is a repeat of the 2024 FA Cup final when United beat City 2-1 at the national stadium 77 days ago.

It is the first time the two Manchester rivals have met in the Community Shield since 2011 when United won 3-2.

Erik ten Hag’s side, who have won the Community Shield a record 21 times, open the new Premier League season next Friday when they host Fulham at Old Trafford (20:00).

City, who won a record fourth successive league title last season, start the defence of their crown at Chelsea on Sunday, 18 August (16:30).

“It’s about a trophy, so we will put out a team that is very competitive to win this trophy,” said Ten Hag.

City boss Pep Guardiola said his players will “go for it” at Wembley too.

“It is important, it’s a final against United but part of it is to try to refine ourselves, step by step after a break for most of the players,” he added.

This is the third Manchester derby to be staged at Wembley in 15 months after City defeated United in the 2023 FA Cup final.

Saturday’s match will go straight to penalties if the scores are level after 90 minutes.

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There were reports on the eve of the 2024 FA Cup final that United boss Ten Hag would be sacked whatever the result against City following disappointing campaigns in the Premier League and Champions League.

United had finished eighth in the Premier League table and bottom of their Champions League group.

Three months on and the Dutchman remains in charge after United triggered a one-year option in his contract which will keep the former Ajax boss at Old Trafford until 2026.

That came after a lengthy review by new co-owners Ineos.

“It feels like it is years ago,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport when asked recently about the uncertainty over his future.

“I left it behind and I am looking forward. I know why I am here. I am here to win. I am here for the project and to win trophies. We want to move forward.”

Former France defender Raphael Varane started the FA Cup final in May but has since left, while Ten Hag has strengthened his side by bringing in 18-year-old France youth defender Leny Yoro from Lille for a fee of 62m euros (£52.18m) with a further 8m euros (£6.73m) in add-ons.

Ten Hag insisted last season could have turned out differently had injuries not hindered the campaign.

Injuries are once again threatening to derail the start of United’s season.

New signing Yoro has been ruled out for three months after foot surgery, while Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund will miss the opening six weeks of the season with a hamstring problem.

United have also signed Bologna and Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee in a deal worth £36.54m.

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There has been little major player movement at Manchester City since their FA Cup final defeat.

The addition of Brazil winger Savinho from French side Troyes until 2029 in a deal worth 40m euros (£30.8m) represents their biggest acquisition of the summer so far, although more movement – both in and out – is expected before the transfer deadline on 30 August.

Argentina forward Julian Alvarez is on the brink of joining Atletico Madrid for £81.5m, which would be a record sale for City.

That could prompt Guardiola into the transfer market to find a replacement for City, who once again start the season favourites to win the Premier League.

“I feel comfortable, because the quality of human beings we have in the squad is difficult to be replaced, and the quality is there,” said the City boss.

“But we’ll see, I don’t know in the last moment if someone comes for some players and they leave, we’re going to decide.”

Guardiola has recently celebrated his eighth anniversary in charge of City, yet his current contract expires in the summer of 2025.

After City’s title success in May he said he was “closer to leaving than staying”, with no indication his contract will be extended.

Guardiola, who has also been linked with the vacant England manager’s job, has delivered 17 trophies since taking charge in 2016 including six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one Fifa Club World Cup and a Uefa Super Cup.

Speaking in July, Guardiola said: “Nine years at the same club is an eternity. I don’t rule out extending the contract. I want to be sure it is the right decision for the club and the players.”

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Team news – both teams missing key players

As well as Yoro and Hojlund, Manchester United are set to be without defenders Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Wembley.

In addition, centre-back Lisandro Martinez only rejoined the squad this week after taking part in Argentina’s successful defence of their Copa America crown.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said some of his players remain on their summer break and will not be involved after playing in the Euro 2024 final on 14 July.

They include defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones, as well as Rodri and Phil Foden.

How can I watch and follow?

The Community Shield is live on ITV, ITVX and STV Player. BBC Radio 5 Live will have full match commentary from Wembley, while there will be live text updates on the BBC Sport website as well as a match report and post-match reaction.

This is the eighth time in the history of the Community Shield that the match has been a repeat of the previous season’s FA Cup final, after 1957 (Man Utd v Aston Villa), 1977 (Man Utd v Liverpool), 1985 (Everton v Man Utd), 1986 (Everton v Liverpool), 1988 (Liverpool v Wimbledon), 2007 (Man Utd v Chelsea) and 2017 (Arsenal v Chelsea).

This is the fourth consecutive year Manchester City are appearing in the Community Shield, though they failed to win the trophy in any of 2021, 2022 or 2023. Only Manchester United (1998 to 2001) have failed to win the Community Shield in four consecutive years.

Source: BBC