5 things to expect from the Community Shield clash between Man Utd and Leicester City

Manchester United play Leicester City in the Community Shield season opener on Sunday, 7 August, at the Wembley stadium.

United have a new manager in Jose Mourinho and are playing in the first match of the season having they won the FA Cup against Crystal Palace last season, while Leicester City won the Premier League in the most dramatic EPL season of all time.

Jose Mourinho with Ed Woodward

The two teams have strengthened significantly with Ahmed Musa joining City while Zlatan Inbrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined United.

Below are some of the things to expect in the upcoming Community Shield;

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan debuts: This is one thing that will happen for sure. The duo are big name arrivals and are expected to start the match against Leicester City.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan poses with Jose Mourinho

Zlatan should start upfront with Rooney behind him while Mkhitaryan should start upfront on the right – Martial on the left and Rooney centrally.

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2. Ahmed Musa upfront for City: Musa has been a main stay for City in central attack in pre-season and it is expected that he starts upfront alongside Jamie Vardy – Claudio Ranieri play with two strikers. With Musa and Vardy in attack, we should see a counter-attacking performance from the Foxes.

Given most Nigerians see Musa play on the wings for the Super Eagles, it would be interesting to see how he performs up front.

Ahmed Musa

3. A confident Manchester United performance: Many players are keen to impress JoseMourinho so expect nothing less that a strong personal performance from the players.

Even Memphis Depay looks like he is trying to create an impression for Mourinho. Fans rejected the sterile football under Louis Van Gaal last season and if anything in pre-season is to go by, United will be interesting to watch this season.

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4. New formations from both teams: Last season United played with a 4-3-3 formation most times while Leicester City practically played a 4-4-1-1 formation but with new additions to both teams, a change in tactics could be on the cards.

Jose Mourinho

Ahmed Musa’s signing could see the Foxes play a 4-3-3 (Musa-Vardy-Mahrez upfront) or a flat 4-4-2. In United’s case, Mourinho has said he would not play with Rooney in midfield but rather as a second striker so expect a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-4-2.

5. Leicester City counter attacks: Despite new signings and a settled squad, Leicester City will still be expected to execute their counter-attacking game-plan from last season.

Jamie Vardy’s speed was key to Leicester City’s counter-attacking style last season

The signing of Ahmed Musa is not going to change the fact that the Foxes will play with a counter-attacking style.

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