The traditional English football curtain-raiser takes place this Saturday when Premier League champions Manchester City face FA Cup winners Manchester United in the Community Shield.

The local rivals will go head-to-head in what is essentially a glorified pre-season friendly but there is still a piece of silverware and bragging rights on the line for the two Manchester sides. For City, there is extra motivation after they were beaten by the Red Devils in last season’s FA Cup final.

Both sides have endured difficult pre-season periods heading to the capital. City travelled to the United States for their friendlies but struggled without a host of first-team players who were still recovering from international tournaments.

United’s injury curse has struck again over the past few weeks with new £52m signing Leny Yoro set for three months on the sidelines. Fitness concerns haven’t helped results, with Erik ten Hag’s side having lost to Rosenborg, Arsenal and Liverpool in friendly encounters.

Here is 90min’s guide to a Manchester derby in the Community Shield.

Man City vs Man Utd H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Pep Guardiola will have to assess Rodri, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and John Stones now they have all returned from the Euro 2024 final. They should be available in some capacity this weekend even if they don’t start.

Summer signing Savio – recruited from sister club Troyes – could make his debut for the Cityzens, while young full-backs Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand are doubts. Ederson may also be unavailable in between the sticks.

With Rodri potentially sitting out, there could be an opportunity handed to 19-year-old midfielder Nico O’Reilly after his impressive pre-season displays. James McAtee also looks likely to stick around the City first team this campaign after his loan spell at Sheffield United last term.

Man City predicted lineup vs Man Utd (4-3-3): Ortega; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Kovacic; Bobb, McAtee, Grealish; Haaland.

United have now welcomed back all their summer internationals but that doesn’t mean they have a fully-fit squad for the trip to Wembley.

Summer recruit Yoro is sidelined for a lengthy spell and Rasmus Hojlund will also miss the start of the season due to an injury sustained against Arsenal on the US tour. £36m Joshua Zirkzee could be handed his debut up top given Hojlund’s absence.

Jonny Evans missed the friendly clash with Liverpool through illness and should be available on Saturday, but fellow centre-backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are both doubts. Tyrell Malacia is guaranteed to miss out.

Man Utd predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Evans, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee.

City don’t have the strongest record in recent Community Shields having not won it since 2019 despite their regular appearances at Wembley. Guardiola tends not to take the match too seriously and the Sky Blues are notoriously late bloomers.

However, it’s still difficult to envisage a United side still somehow fraught with injuries and in patchy pre-season form overcoming the Premier League champions. It will likely be a tight game but we’re backing Man City to come out on top…just.

Prediction: Man City 2-1 Man Utd

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