The Community Shield takes place every year the week before the start of the Premier League season and after Manchester City’s domination of the top-flight, they face last season’s FA Cup winners, Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

STATS

• Chelsea were very disappointing in the league under Antonio Conte last term and could only manage a 5^th-place finish, missing out on a Champions League spot. They’ve played three pre-season fixtures so far, winning two of the three but losing against Arsenal on penalties last time out. They did beat Inter on penalties a week ago so if Sunday’s clash goes the distance, they’ll be confident.
• Man City were simply incredible last term in the Premier League as they romped to the title, becoming the first team to rack up over 100 points. With a strong contingent of their players at the World Cup, the three friendlies they’ve played haven’t been a proper indicator of how they’ll line up this season. They were beaten By Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool before coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Bayern.
• Eden Hazard was brilliant last season for Chelsea and he finished as their leading scorer with 12 goals before going on to have an outstanding World Cup.
• Despite having a season marred by injury, Sergio Aguero still managed to come 3^rd in the race for the golden boot with 21 goals while Raheem Sterling got 18 himself.

HEAD TO HEAD

Over the last two seasons, the meetings between Man City and Chelsea have been very even. City won both last term after the Blues won both fixtures the season before. In both campaigns, the team that won both home and away went onto win the title. The last meeting between the sides in the Community Shield came in 2012 where goals from Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri led the Citizens to a 3-2 win over Chelsea. Both teams scored in just two of the last five meetings.

CHELSEA NEWS

Maurizio Sarri has said that it would perfect to start his reign with some silverware. He doesn’t have too many injuries to worry about as Cesc Fabregas is the only doubt with a knee problem, Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois are all due back from their extended holiday on Monday.

Latest matches: Chelsea FC

01.08.2018	Inte	Arsenal FC	Chelsea FC	7:6	L
28.07.2018	Inte	Chelsea FC	Inter Milan	6:5	W
23.07.2018	Club	Perth Glory FC	Chelsea FC	0:1	W
19.05.2018	FA C	Chelsea FC	Manchester United	1:0	W
13.05.2018	Prem	Newcastle United	Chelsea FC	3:0	L

MANCHESTER CITY NEWS

New signing Riyad Mahrez had an injury scare in the week but now looks like he should feature on Sunday. Phil Foden is a slight doubt as is Aymeric Laporte. Benjamin Mendy is yet to return from international duty.

Latest matches: Manchester City

28.07.2018	Inte	Bayern Munich	Manchester City	2:3	W
26.07.2018	Inte	Manchester City	Liverpool FC	1:2	L
21.07.2018	Inte	Manchester City	Borussia Dortmund	0:1	L
13.05.2018	Prem	Southampton FC	Manchester City	0:1	W
09.05.2018	Prem	Manchester City	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	3:1	W

SUMMARY

The Community Shield is often played at half pace especially with both sides having several international representatives at the World Cup. Man City are undoubted favourites after their mesmerising performances last term but Chelsea shouldn’t be written off under their new boss. It’ll be interesting to see how they play under Sarri.