Community Shield: Arsenal vs Man City predictions, 8-1 Bet Builder tip, team news and odds

Arsenal vs Man City kick-off, date & TV info

Date Sunday, August 16

Kick-off 3pm

Venue Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Competition Community Shield

TV TNT Sports 1 & HBO Max

Premier League champions Arsenal take on Enzo Maresca's Manchester City in this afternoon's Community Shield in Cardiff.

The Gunners' last competitive outing ended in a penalty-shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final and they lost 2-0 to City in March's EFL Cup final at Wembley.

Arsenal vs Man City betting tips & predictions

Best bet

Draw

1pt 5-2 BoyleSports, Coral

Best player bet

Phil Foden to have over 1.5 shots

4-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

Arsenal vs Man Citypreview

Community Shield results rarely live long in the memory but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta can look back fondly on Arsenal's penalty-shootout win over Manchester City in August 2023.

The Gunners had blown up in the Premier League title race the previous season, suffering a harrowing 4-1 defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium in the final week of April.

"The mental block is gone," declared Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after the shootout win at Wembley, although Arteta's men still finished as runners-up to City in 2023-24 and Liverpool the following season.

Plenty has changed in the three years since these clubs last met in the Community Shield. Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber made their competitive debuts for Arsenal that day and City's goalscorer was Cole Palmer.

This time around, Arsenal go into the game as champions of England and, crucially, Pep Guardiola is no longer in charge of the Citizens.

Enzo Maresca will lead City out at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, where the fixture takes place because Canadian singer The Weeknd is performing at Wembley.

And that is not the only North American-related disruption for the Community Shield contenders.

City top scorer Erling Haaland, like Arsenal stars Rice and Bukayo Saka, only returned to training this week after playing in this summer's World Cup.

The staggered returns of players involved in the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico must have affected pre-season plans, particularly for City's new boss Maresca.

The transfer window is another distraction for Arteta and Maresca, whose midfield selections in Cardiff will be especially interesting.

City's Rodri has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, Tijjani Reijnders is off to the Saudi Pro League and Maresca was asked at his Friday press conference about the club's interest in Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez.

The Citizens landed Elliot Anderson early in the summer and Arsenal's Bruno Guimaraes made his debut in Wednesday's 1-1 friendly draw with Como.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, who scored in that game, could start in Cardiff despite reportedly being offered to Manchester United and Chelsea.

It is a messy fixture for everyone involved, including punters, but the draw in 90 minutes looks a decent bet.

Four of the last six Community Shields have been decided on penalties and three of the last five league meetings between the title rivals ended in draws.

Focused Foden has a point to prove

The World Cup hangover means that Arsenal and City fans will have to wait to see their clubs' strongest starting 11s unleashed.

However, City's Phil Foden missed out on the England squad and he could burst out of the blocks in the season opener.

Foden, who signed a new four-year contract at City in July, is a nice price to have two or more shots against Arsenal.

He averaged 1.7 attempts per 90 minutes in last term's Premier League, and 2.1 in the Champions League, and should be sharp after playing 68, 62 and 90 minutes in three games on City's pre-season tour of Asia.

Arsenal vs Man City Bet Builder

Under 3.5 goals

Last season's three meetings between these clubs all featured under 3.5 goals and they drew 1-1 in the Community Shield in August 2023.

Kai Havertz anytime goalscorer

The forward scored nine goals in his last 16 appearances for Arsenal and Germany, including one in April's Premier League defeat at Manchester City.

Matheus Nunes to commit one or more fouls

Nunes flourished as a right-back under Pep Guardiola but he faces a difficult test against left-winger Christos Tzolis, who has impressed in Arsenal's pre-season games.

Pays out at 8-1 with bet365

Key stats for Arsenal vs Man City

♦ Arsenal scored the first goal in each of their last eight competitive fixtures

♦ Five of the Gunners' last seven wins in all competitions were by a 1-0 scoreline

♦ Only one of Manchester City's last ten matches produced over 3.5 goals

♦ Five of the last nine Community Shield games finished 1-1 in 90 minutes

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Arsenal vs Man Citybetting odds

Sign up with Paddy Power to bet on the Community Shield. Here are the latest odds for today's season curtain-raiser:

Odds correct at time of publishing

Want more top football betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport's tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.

Arsenal vs Man Cityteam news and predicted line-ups

Arsenal

Bruno Guimaraes could start in midfield but defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber are injured. England's Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have not played in pre-season but could be in the squad.

Predicted line-up (4-3-3): Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly; Madueke, Havertz, Tzolis

Subs: Calafiori, Nwaneri, Eze, Merino, Gyokeres, Dowman, Salmon

Man City

Rodri, linked with a transfer to Barcelona, is recovering from back surgery. Erling Haaland only returned to training on Thursday so Omar Marmoush should start up front.

Predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gonzalez; Foden, Cherki, Semenyo; Marmoush

Subs: Anderson, Haaland, Doku, Lewis, Monga, Ait-Nouri, Guehi

Now read:

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FAQs

When is Arsenal vs Man City in the Community Shield?

Arsenal vs Man City takes place on Sunday, August 16 and kicks off at 3pm BST.

Where is the 2026 Community Shield being played?

The venue for the game is the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The Community Shield's traditional home, Wembley, is unavailable due to the venue hosting The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn tour.

Where can I watch the 2026 Community Shield?

TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max are showing the Community Shield live in the UK.

What is the betting for the Community Shield?

Arsenal are 8-5 to win, Man City are a 17-10 chance and the draw is 23-10 with Paddy Power.

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