Community Shield 2023/24: Man City vs Arsenal Betting Preview

Manchester City and Arsenal go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium on Sunday with the first piece of silverware for the 2023/24 season up for grabs.

The Community Shield fixture gives each team the opportunity to lay down an early marker ahead of what promises to be a thrilling campaign.

Read on as we take a closer look at the annual curtain raiser to the English football season and offer our best bets from the wide range markets available online.

Arsenal’s decision to pay West Ham United more than £100 million to sign midfielder Declan Rice represents a major gamble on their part.

Rice is a decent Premier League performer, but you would be hard pushed to argue he has done enough to warrant the Gunners paying that much for him.

He will undoubtedly be eager to impress on Sunday, which makes him a viable candidate to be shown a yellow card if he starts throwing himself into tackles.

Rice was booked five times last season and odds of 21/4 with Bet UK to be carded this weekend look a tempting proposition.

A feature of the pre-season matches involving the top clubs in Europe has been goals, with numerous games producing bumper scorelines.

With plenty of attacking talent on both sides in the Community Shield, fans at Wembley Stadium could be treated to a hugely entertaining encounter.

Over 3.5 goals in the game is priced at odds of 9/5 on several football betting sites and should give punters a good run for their money.

Neither side is likely to be fully tuned up this weekend, which increases the possibility of defensive errors creeping into the game.

Erling Braut Haaland enjoyed a stellar debut season for Man City, netting 52 goals in all competitions to help them win the treble.

The Norwegian will be keen to kick off the new campaign in the same vein, and looks a banker bet at odds of 10/11 on UK betting apps to get on the scoresheet.

If the prospect of betting at odds-on leaves you feeling cold, Haaland to score two or more goals in the game at 9/2 may be worth an interest.

Haaland has been the star of the show since joining Man City from Borussia Dortmund and is fancied to enjoy another fantastic campaign under Pep Guardiola.