Community Shield Prediction: Golden chance for United to land Wembley double

Seventy-seven days after Manchester City and Manchester United met at Wembley to contest the FA Cup final, they return to the home of English football for the right to lift the Community Shield.

Erik Ten Hag's United triumphed in the FA Cup showpiece, with young aces Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scoring in a shock 2-1 win.

League champions City would doubtless like to wipe the smile off the faces of their bitter rivals but this isn't a match in which they have fared well in recent seasons.

Community Shield Betting Tips

• Manchester United To Win The Trophy @ 9/4
• Manchester United Over 3.5 Corners @ 13/10

Team news

It is highly likely that Manchester City will have a depleted look to them with their Euro 2024 finalists, Spain's Rodri and England trio Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, only just having returned to training. It is doubtful any of them will start.

Plenty of others, including Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and new signing Savinho, have returned to training this week, so again, Pep Guardiola will want to tread carefully a week before the start of their title defence.

Julian Alvarez is on his way to Atletico Madrid, so the likes of Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis and James McAtee can all expect starts.

Manchester United are without Leny Yoro, while fellow central defenders Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof are doubtful.

At least Ten Hag has welcomed back his summer international finalists to training, though that doesn't necessarily mean the likes of Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo walk straight back in. Rasmus Hojlund is definitely out, so newboy Joshua Zirkzee should start.

Manchester United To Win The Trophy @ 9/4

When it comes to the Premier League, Manchester City have been head and shoulders above the pack for most of Pep Guardiola's reign.

However, when it comes to the Community Shield, they give everyone else a chance, having failed to win any of the last three.

Three summers ago, Leicester beat City 1-0, a year later, Liverpool saw them off 3-1, and 12 months ago, Arsenal pipped the champions on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The big project for Guardiola includes retaining the Premier League, not necessarily reclaiming the Community Shield and that leaves them vulnerable against United, for whom every piece of silverware, no matter how seemingly trivial, is priceless.

Ten Hag seems to have the board on his side at the moment, but a repeat of last season's indifference won't work in his favour. What will impress the club's new owners is reproducing the performance that saw them beat United 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

To that end, United should be taking this match seriously against a City team who will obviously carry a threat but will be short of superstars at the end of a long, hard international summer. In short, United's aces have returned to training earlier than most of City's and at this point of the season that could be significant.

Total Manchester United Corners Over 3.5 @ 13/10

United won just one corner in May's FA Cup final triumph over City, but that was a rare low tally in a season where they piled them up.

When the teams met at Old Trafford in the Premier League last season, United piled up seven corners, and Ten Hag's men averaged 5.9 per match in that competition.

It's definitely a possible scenario that they can amass at least four with over 3.5 United corners value at 13/10.

The team United will be sending out will be strong in the wide areas with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Garnacho and Amad Diallo fighting to impress.

And, of course, City won't be anywhere near full strength so could be vulnerable to pace on the counter.

It isn't a season-defining match in the grand scheme of things, and there is always an element of just getting through it unscathed. But United will be desperate to build on May's FA Cup final triumph, a rare highlight in an otherwise bleak season, and getting onto the front foot at Wembley would be a step in the right direction.

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation