Charity Shield betting preview 2011/12

This season’s curtain raiser has added spice as Premier League Champions Manchester United take on local rivals and FA Cup winners Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday. Man United are the most successful side to play in this competition with 14 wins, whilst Man City also have history in the Community Shield, lifting it on 3 occasions. Interestingly Ryan Giggs is also the holder of the most appearances in the competition, with 14, and will undoubtedly add to that on Sunday.

Championship Shield odds

Current Premier League champions Man United are the slight favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday and are best priced at 1.75 with Bwin. Although it has been a summer of transition for The Red Devils, they have added some real quality to their squad, and a good history in the competition means they are looking good as favourites to lift the trophy. It will though, be interesting to see how Man United line up, as in the past Alex Ferguson has started with his strongest team. This could mean debuts for new signings David De Gea in goal, Phil Jones in defence, and Ashley Young in attacking midfield. Wayne Rooney has looked sharp in preseason and so odds of 2.85 with Unibet for the striker to score at any time during the game, are definitely worth a look. Games between these two sides have been notoriously close over recent seasons, which means that Man United to win the tie on penalties is looking good at 6.5 with Skybet.

Manchester City are the slight underdogs going into the match on Sunday and priced at 2.1 with Bet365. City haven’t competed in the Community Shield since 1973, but they did beat Manchester United in the FA Cup semi final last season, which could give them an edge. Like their rivals, City have had somewhat of a change over the summer, with several players leaving and arriving, but their starting 11 won’t be much different to last season. Carlos Tevez will definitely miss out after been given an extended leave of absence. There will though, be a place for new £38m signing Sergio Aguero, who could well make his debut on Sunday. The Argentine striker has real quality and is looking good to open the scoring with odds of 6.5 available from Boylesports. Much of Roberto Mancini’s success at City has been based on a solid defence, which should continue again this season. With this in mind, a correct score of 1-1 is looking likely and so a good bet at 7.0 with William Hill.

Highlighted bets

Sergio Aguero to score first – 6.5 Boylesports

Wayne Rooney anytime scorer – 2.75 Bet 365

1-1 correct score – 7.0 William Hill

Man United to lift the trophy – 1.73 Bet 365

Either side to win on penalties – 6.5 Skybet

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