Arsenal vs Man City: Community Shield prediction, kick-off time, team news, TV, live stream, h2h results, odds | OneFootball

Premier League champions and FA Cup winners collide in Cardiff

As is the tradition in English football, the reigning top-flight champions take on the FA Cup holders to kick off the new campaign and this will be a chance for both sides to put down an early marker before they do battle for the title once again.

While the Gunners are no strangers to playing in the Community Shield, this will be the first time they are participating as Premier League champions in 22 years after topping the table last season ahead of Man City.

Meanwhile, six of the last eight Community Shield showdowns have featured Man City due to their dominance under Pep Guardiola.

However, this will be their first in a decade without Guardiola after he stepped down in May and was replaced by ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who will renew his rivalry with Mikel Arteta on the touchline.

Arsenal vs Manchester City is scheduled for a 3pm BST kick-off today on Sunday August 16, 2026.

The match will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The Community Shield is not taking place at its traditional home at Wembley this year because Canadian pop star The Weeknd has booked five nights at the stadium, between August 14 and 19, for his After Hours Til Dawn Tour.

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports. Coverage starts at 2pm BST on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the HBO Max app and website.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on Sunday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dom Smith at the ground.

Arsenal vs Man City team news

Bruno Guimaraes is in line to make his competitive Arsenal debut today after featuring as a substitute in the final pre-season friendly against Como on Wednesday evening.

Arteta has a decision to make in defence with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber both sidelined through injury. Cristhian Mosquera is the favourite to partner Gabriel at centre-back, but youngster Marli Salmon has impressed in pre-season.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is poised to start in midfield, likely alongside captain Martin Odegaard as Kai Havertz moves into a more familiar centre-forward role.

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are all set to return to the squad, though they are unlikely to start having not played a single minute of pre-season due to their World Cup exploits.

Man City are set to be without Rodri for this game. The Spaniard has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona and only returned to City on Friday following his post-World Cup break and a minor back procedure.

Erling Haaland was back in training on Thursday after his own post-World Cup holiday and a minor fitness issue, but is unlikely to lead the line in Cardiff. Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush, though, should all be raring to go.

New £116million signing Elliot Anderson is pushing to make the matchday squad after joining up following England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.

Neither Arsenal nor Man City have been at full strength during pre-season, so this is shaping up to be a close game.

A penalty shootout cannot be ruled out, especially as four of the last six Community Shield matches have been settled in that fashion - including the last time these two teams met in this fixture in 2023.

However, we think with Man City looking a little bit sharper than the Gunners, Maresca will get his reign off to a winning start.

Man City to win, 2-0.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Arsenal and Man City have previously met twice in the Community Shield, with the Gunners emerging victorious on both occasions.

Arsenal wins: 101

Man City wins: 67

Draws: 48

Arsenal to lift trophy: 9/10

Man City to lift trophy: 20/23

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