Arsenal vs Manchester City Preview – prediction, team news, lineups | Community Shield

Arsenal and Manchester City meet in Cardiff for the first trophy of the 2026-27 English football season.

Arsenal face Manchester City in the 2026 FA Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday. Arsenal qualified as Premier League champions, while Manchester City earned their place after winning the 2026 FA Cup.

The fixture is a repeat of the 2023 Community Shield, when Arsenal defeated City on penalties after a 1-1 draw. City have won just one of their last six meetings with Arsenal, although that victory came in their most recent encounter, a 2-1 Premier League win at the Etihad in April.

Kick-off Details

• Competition: FA Community Shield
• Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026
• Time: 3:00 PM BST / 7:30 PM IST
• Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
• Referee: TBD
• VAR: Not in use

Form

Arsenal: L-W-L-W-W

Manchester City: D-L-L-W-W

Players to watch out for

Kai Havertz (Arsenal)

Havertz is expected to lead Arsenal’s attack in the absence of several players who are not expected to start because of limited pre-season minutes. He also scored against Manchester City in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at the Etihad in April.

Omar Marmoush (Manchester City)

Marmoush netted two goals in Manchester City’s 3-1 pre-season success over Atletico Madrid and is likely to feature in the lineup against Arsenal. Erling Haaland is anticipated to start on the bench following his post-World Cup vacation despite not having participated in any pre-season matches.

Match Facts

• Arsenal are competing for their 18th Community Shield title.
• Manchester City have won the Community Shield seven times, with their most recent triumph coming in 2024.
• Arsenal won the 2023 Community Shield against Manchester City on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
• Manchester City have lost only one of their last six meetings with Arsenal.
• City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad in April in their most recent meeting.
• Manchester City recorded 3-1 wins over the K-League XI and Atletico Madrid during pre-season.
• The Community Shield will go directly to a penalty shootout if the match is level after 90 minutes.

Betting tips & odds

• Tip 1: Match to end in a draw– 23/10 with bet365.
• Tip 2: Omar Marmoush to score anytime – 7/4 with bet365.
• Tip 3: Kai Havertz to score anytime – 8/5 with bet365.

Injury & team news

Unfortunately, Arsenal will be without the services of Jurrien Timber, who has a groin injury, and William Saliba, who is dealing with a back issue. They are likely to continue missing matches. Although Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are back after participating in the World Cup, they may not be assured of a starting place since they have not played during pre-season.

Recent recruit Bruno Guimaraes is available to make his debut after appearing off the bench in the match against Como. David Raya should be chosen to start as the goalkeeper after his impressive penalty saves in the midweek match against Arsenal.

For Manchester City, Erling Haaland has returned to training but is expected to begin on the bench because he has not played during pre-season. Rodri remains unavailable following back surgery.

Savinho missed training earlier this week because of illness, while Tijjani Reijnders is close to a move to the Saudi Pro League. New signing Elliot Anderson has yet to make his City debut and is expected to start on the bench at most.

Head-to-head stats

• Matches Played: 42
• Arsenal (Win): 09
• Manchester City (Win): 22
• Draw: 11

Predicted lineup

Arsenal

Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapie; Guimaraes, Lewis-Skelly; Madueke, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Manchester City

Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri; Kovacic, Gonzalez; Savinho, Foden, Semenyo; Marmoush

Match Prediction

Arsenal and Manchester City have both had mixed results during pre-season, but the Gunners’ recent record in the Community Shield and their penalty-shootout success against City in 2023 make this difficult to separate. Sports Mole expects the match to remain level after 90 minutes before Arsenal prevail in the shootout.

Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City (Arsenal to win on penalties)

Telecast Details

UK: TNT Sports

India: Sony Sports Network & Sony LIV

USA: ESPN

Nigeria: SuperSport

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