It’s Man Utd vs Man City in what will be the 194th Manchester derby. The Premier League champions, Manchester City, and 2023/24 FA Cup winners, Manchester United, will rekindle their rivalry in the 2024 Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium today.
The match, the curtain raiser for the 2024/25 Premier League season, will be live on DStv and Gotv. Time is 3 p.m.
Despite City’s dominance, which has seen them win the title four times in the last five seasons, the derby has remained a close contest.
In the last 46 Manchester derbies, City won 22 scoring 75 goals, United won 20 by netting 59 times, while four encounters ended in a draw.
Pep Guardiola’s men have also lost two of the last five derbies, with the last coming in a 2-1 FA Cup final defeat in May.
Man Utd vs Man City Community Shield encounter already has an intriguing build-up, with the FA having to replace the initial match-day referee, John Brooks, after suffering an injury.
Fellow Premier League match official Jarred Gillett, will take charge on today.
Pep Guardiola has had an imperious eight-year reign as Man City boss. He has won the league six times but has endured a not-too-impressive record in the Community Shield, with just two wins.
His City side will want to avoid a repeat of last season’s result that saw them lose the Community Shield to Arsenal at the same venue.
Man Utd vs Man City injuries
Manchester United will go into the match with a long list of injuries.
New signing Leny Yoro is out for three months with a foot injury; Aaron Wan-Bissaka was withdrawn in the last friendly match due to injury; Harry Maguire is still recovering from the issue that ruled him out of Euro 2024; Jonny Evans is struggling with illness, while Victor Lindelof and Rasmus Hojlund are also injured.
Speaking ahead of the game, Manchester United Manager, Erik Ten Hag, said the aim is to win today, but will not risk any unfit player to get the job done.
“So, we always want to win, also in all the friendlies,” said Ten Hag. “It’s about trophy. We will put out a team that is very competitive to win this trophy.
“It’s also pre-season. We don’t go into big risks with players. The normal approach into this game.”
Manchester City have no major injury worries. Star players such as Haaland, Rodri, Doku, De Bruyne, and Foden are all expected to be in the squad at Wembley.
