The season opener of Man City v Chelsea Community Shield betting will be with us on the weekend, as the football scene bids farewell to the Olympic Games this big clash takes centre stage. This will be a great indicator of just where the two sides are at ahead of the new Premier League season, with most of the focus being on the defending Premier League champions, Manchester City. Most of the summer talk about Manchester City was whether or not they would be signing want-away Arsenal striker Robin van Persie or not. The hype has died down a little bit and Citizens boss Roberto Mancini has all but ruled out a move for the Dutchman ahead of the new season, saying that it was unlikely they would be getting him. So, ahead of the new season, how have Manchester City been shaping up? Well by and large the early part of their pre-season was pretty dour, offering very little going forward and suffering defeat against Al-Hilal before getting drawn into an awful 0-0 with Dynamo Dresden in Germany. But then they have slowly stepped up the gears, beating Besiktas, Arsenal, Malaysia and Wolfsburg along the way. So they have steadily found their sharpness ahead of the Community Shield
City should be favourites going into the showcase, because it is they who should be carrying over consistency from last season, as opposed to Chelsea who are rebuilding. The fact that City haven’t been very active in the transfer market is a bit of a surprise, and Mancini apparently stated that he was desperate to get a couple of new players into his ranks. This is a massive season for City, the defence of their league title likely to be harder than winning it in the first place. But maybe the lack of transfer activity proves a point that City really don’t need to change too much because they are so good, and they should have the advantage over Chelsea in terms of quality strike power and defensively. City were flying up front last season and tight at the back, so they may really only need small tweaks and that is what will likely give them an advantage over Chelsea. The two sides both earned home 2-1 wins when they met in the Premier League last season.
For Chelsea, the pressure is on Roberto Di Matteo to take Chelsea forward. There was a huge team spirit and defensive effort in seeing them win the Champions League against the odds last season, but owner Roman Abramovich wants to see his play-thing play with style. So Chelsea are in rebuilding mode and will be looking to new players like Eden Hazard and Marko Marin to provide them with a little extra spark. Chelsea look as if they are working towards the famous Spanish tika-taka style, but they are quite a way short at the moment. Chelsea have not been convincing through their pre-season at all, losing their last three matches against the MLS All Stars, AC Milan and rather shockingly, Brighton on the weekend. The Blues were outplayed by the Seagulls and it doesn’t quite look as if Roberto Di Matteo is sure how to set up his side just yet. Chelsea have been lacking serious quality up front and unless Fernando Torres stands up, they will be ruing the loss of Didier Drogba.
The midfield is not settled for Chelsea, it has not gelled properly yet and perhaps most worryingly of all, is that the back line has looked pretty slow and sloppy. So there is more work to be done at Stamford Bridge than there is at the Etihad Stadium ahead of Chelsea v Manchester City Community Shield betting. City’s mean defence is likely to have a pretty easy time against a Chelsea side who are still looking to find their feet.
Chelsea v Man City Community Shield Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Man City 5/4, Chelsea 11/5, Draw 9/4
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