FA Cup winners Leicester City and Premier League champions Manchester City will lock horns in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday evening.
Leicester secured their first ever FA Cup trophy last season courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the final on May 15, while Man City ultimately finished 12 points clear of second-place Manchester United at the top of the 2020-21 Premier League table to reclaim the title from Liverpool.
Match preview
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The 2020-21 campaign will forever be remembered in the history of Leicester, as the Foxes won the FA Cup for the first time, but the season ended in disappointment in terms of the Premier League, with a 4-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day seeing them drop out of the top four.
Brendan Rodgers's side ultimately finished fifth last term, meaning that they will play in the Europa League again this season, rather than the Champions League, which looked to be a strong possibility for long spells.
Leicester have now reset for the new season, and they have been involved in four friendlies this summer, losing their first two to Burton Albion and Wycombe Wanderers on July 24 and July 28 respectively before ending last month with a 3-3 draw against Queens Park Rangers.
The Foxes finished their preparations for the new campaign with a 3-2 victory over Villarreal on Wednesday, though, with Caglar Soyuncu, Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez on the scoresheet.
Rodgers's side have managed to bring in Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand this summer, and more new additions are expected before the transfer window closes.
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Man City, meanwhile, are bidding to win the Community Shield for the seventh time, having previously lifted this particular trophy in 1937, 1968, 1972, 2012, 2018 and 2019.
The Citizens proved to be too strong for the rest of the competition in last season's Premier League and will be looking to make the perfect start to the new campaign when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur in their opener on August 15, with Harry Kane's future still very much up in the air.
Pep Guardiola's side, who are said to be closing in on a £100m deal for Jack Grealish, have only been involved in three pre-season matches this summer, opening their preparations on July 27 with a 2-0 victory over Preston North End before putting four unanswered goals past Barnsley last weekend.
Man City then recorded a 4-1 win over Blackpool on Tuesday evening and will view Saturday's contest as a valuable exercise with the new Premier League season just around the corner.
As mentioned, a deal for Grealish is close to being announced, while Kane remains a leading target, and it will be fascinating to see whether the Manchester giants manage to sign both players before the end of the window.
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Team News
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Leicester will be missing Timothy Castagne, James Justin and Jonny Evans this weekend through injury, while Wesley Fofana suffered a fractured fibula during the pre-season clash with Villarreal on Wednesday, meaning that the centre-back's 2021-22 campaign is now in doubt.
There is a chance that Wilfred Ndidi could be pressed into action alongside Soyuncu at the back, with Ricardo Pereira and Bertrand lining up in the full-back positions.
Kelechi Iheanacho could be given the nod alongside Jamie Vardy as part of a front two, with Daka starting on the bench, while Barnes and Youri Tielemans are also in line to feature for the Foxes.
Man City, meanwhile, had Ferran Torres back in pre-season training on Wednesday following his involvement in Euro 2020, while fellow Spain international Rodri was also present during the same session.
The Citizens will still be missing a number of key players, though, with the likes of Ederson, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus all unavailable for selection.
Zack Steffen is set to start between the sticks, while there are likely to be spots in the first XI for Cole Palmer and Sam Edozie, who have impressed for the English champions during pre-season.
Bernardo Silva continues to be linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium, but the Portugal international could feature in the final third of the field alongside Riyad Mahrez.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Ndidi, Soyuncu, Bertrand; Albrighton, Tielemans, Soumare, Barnes; Vardy, Iheanacho
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Mendy; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Palmer; Mahrez, B Silva, Edozie
We say: Leicester City 2-1 Manchester City
Man City would certainly have the edge if both teams were at full strength, but the Citizens will be missing a number of important players this weekend. Leicester, on the other hand, have a lot of their key individuals available, and we fancy the Foxes to record a narrow win to lift this trophy for the second time in their history.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 54.3%. A draw had a probability of 23.3% and a win for Leicester City had a probability of 22.38%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.81%) and 0-2 (9.31%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.04%), while for a Leicester City win it was 1-0 (6.22%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood.
