2 and a half months after the FA Cup final, Manchester City and Manchester United will meet again, in another cup competition. Community Shield (English Super Cup) will be the starting signal for the 2024-2025 season in England.
Compared to the match at the end of May, the two teams are in a different state now, as they are in the preparation phase for the new season and have not yet reached 100% in all aspects. However, regardless of their state, Man United will still be ranked "below" their neighbor.
Therefore, the familiar question at many recent meetings is still there, "What does Man United have to win?"
Firstly, in terms of tradition, Man United is the team that has won Community Shield the most - 21 times. With Man City, they have only 6, including 3 times in the 21st century (2012, 2018, 2019).
The fact that Man United last won the silver disc in 2016 is a motivating factor. And in the context where each title is as precious as ever, "The Red Devils" will play with the highest determination.
On the other hand, whether Man City has "the highest determination" or not is still a question mark. At least from Pep Guardiola's point of view, he does not consider Community Shield as one of the important cups.
Since 2016, Pep has won 6 Premier League titles with Man City, but only 2 English Super Cups.
Due to this point of view, the Spanish coach does not often use his strongest lineup for this match. In the last 3 Community Shield matches, Pep has used a lineup with many young players and lost to Leicester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal.
Currently, with some key players returning to training for a few days, it is not certain that Pep will start them.
On the other hand, when aiming to win the cup, Erik ten Hag can use Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez even if they have not played any friendly matches.
In terms of form, both teams have not played convincingly in their friendly matches, with the notable fact that Man City has conceded 9 goals in 4 matches.
Erling Haaland has scored very early, with 5 goals/4 matches, but with the tight defense that Man United will set up, the Norwegian striker may face difficulties like in the FA Cup final.
That was the best match of Man United in terms of tactics and adherence to the game plan in the 2023-2024 season. Also, due to that performance, all doubts about Ten Hag were washed away, and the Dutch coach was retained.
Depending on the starting lineup of the two teams, Man United can play an open game or choose to defend and counterattack like they have done before. What is important is the flexibility in adjusting from outside and inside the pitch.
If they score a goal first, the chances of Man United winning will be higher, but Marcus Rashford and his teammates will have to be more sharp than in their recent friendly matches.
