Community Shield preview: Manchester City vs Arsenal – where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups, form guide | OneFootball

Wembley Stadium forms the backdrop for the 2023 Community Shield showpiece between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday.

Where to watch the Community Shield on TV?

Fans in the United Kingdom can watch the 2023/24 curtain-raising fixture on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player.

For fans outside of the UK, see our live football streams page for how to watch the game.

What do you need to know?

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side made history last season, becoming only the second-ever Premier League side to win the treble.

In addition to hoisting a third consecutive league crown, which qualified them for this encounter, Man City won their maiden Champions League title and pipped Manchester United to FA Cup glory.

Rodri’s second-half winner handed the Cityzens a narrow 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in Europe’s most prestigious grand final, while Ilkay Gundogan’s brace won them the FA Cup.

However, Gundogan is no longer part of Man City as he left the Etihad Stadium after seven years to link up with Barcelona last month.

Without their long-serving captain, Guardiola’s men are looking to win the Community Shield title for the first time since 2019 after losing back-to-back title deciders to Leicester City and Liverpool, respectively.

Man City boast six Community Shield triumphs, two of which have come during Guardiola’s trophy-laden regime.

But their only previous encounter against Arsenal in this fixture in the 21st century yielded a 3-0 defeat in 2014.

Arsenal

Arsenal mounted a genuine title challenge in the 2022/23 Premier League season but eventually had to settle for a runner-up finish, ending the campaign five points adrift of Man City.

Despite failing to halt a two-decade league drought, the Gunners at least secured a coveted Champions League qualification for the first time in the post-Arsene Wenger era.

Mikel Arteta, the mastermind behind Arsenal’s domestic resurgence, is no stranger to taking home the Community Shield trophy, having overcome Liverpool to lead the London side to the title in 2020.

Unlike Guardiola, who has had a relatively quiet summer by his standards, Arteta has overseen an impressive recruitment campaign at the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz have joined Arsenal for a combined transfer fee of over £200 million, with the Gunners shattering the British record to prise the former away from West Ham United.

The expensive new signings are intended to help Arteta’s side close the gap on Man City after losing all three competitive meetings with the Cityzens last season by an aggregate score of 8-2.

Possible Starting Line-ups

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake; Mateo Kovacic, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber; Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard; Gabriel Jesus.

Form Guide

Manchester City

Man City closed things out in a memorable 2022/23 season with a brace of history-defining victories over Inter and Man Utd in the finals.

Guardiola’s high-flyers picked up where they left off in their opening summer friendly, thumping reigning J1 League holders Yokohama F Marinos 5-3 before squeezing past Bayern Munich 2-1.

But they come into proceedings off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Where they stood last season: Premier League champions, Champions League winners, FA Cup winners.

Arsenal

Arsenal concluded last season with an emphatic 5-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, curtailing an underwhelming run of two straight league losses ‘to nil.’

However, Arteta’s men failed to impress at the start of their pre-season preparations, recording a pair of 1-1 draws against Nurnberg and Watford before flying across the ocean for the United States tour.

They kicked things off in the States with a 5-0 demolition of the MLS All-Stars team but slumped to a 2-0 loss to Man Utd in the follow-up.

Before returning to Europe, the Gunners stunned La Liga champions Barcelona 5-3, yet they needed penalties to beat Monaco to the Emirates Cup triumph on Wednesday.

Where they stood last season: Premier League runners-up.

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