Maurizio Sarri’s first competitive game with the Blues will be against Man City in the Community Shield, which could lead to a debut for Riyad Mahrez
FA Cup winners Chelsea and Premier League champions Manchester City will go head-to-head with each other at Wembley when they meet in this year’s Community Shield.
New Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is set to make his competitive debut when his side face the English champions, while Pep Guardiola will be looking to use the momentum from last season’s title win to push forward into the new campaign.
Both sides have wrapped their pre-season participation in the International Champions Cup (ICC) and Sunday’s fixture comes with the added drama of seeing Jorginho play for the Blues – as the Italian international seemed to have been on the verge of signing for City this summer, only to be recruited by his former Napoli boss.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield fixture.
| Game | Chelsea vs Man City |
| Date | Sunday, August 5 |
| Time | 3pm BST / 10am EST |
In the United States (US) the game will be shown live on television on ESPN+ and will be available to stream live online via WatchESPN .
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 1 and online via the BT Sport App.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 1 | BT Sport App |
| Position | Chelsea players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Caballero |
| Defenders | Rudiger, Alonso, Zappacosta, Christensen, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Palmieri, Zouma |
| Midfielders | Fabregas, Jorginho, Drinkwater, Barkley, Bakayoko, Moses, Willian, Ampadu, Loftus-Cheek |
| Forwards | Morata, Pedro, Musonda, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham |
Belgian internationals Eden Hazard, Michy Batshuayi and Thibaut Courtois will not be involved in the fixture due to post-World Cup holidays, while France duo N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud are only expected to return to full training early next week.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, may be in contention to start the fixture having already resumed training, while Willian also returned to Cobham.
Click Here: Cheap FIJI Rugby Jersey
Potential Chelsea XI: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Fabregas, Barkley, Pedro, Morata, Hudson-Odoi.
| Position | Man City players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ederson, Bravo, Hart |
| Defenders | Walker, Danilo, Stones, Garcia, Otamendi, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy, Delph |
| Midfielders | Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, D Silva, B Silva |
| Forwards | Sane, Roberts |
A crop of Manchester City internationals returned to club training this week with Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho, David Silva and Vincent Kompany available to feature against Chelsea.
Belgium starlet Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be back in Manchester early next week, while Raheem Sterling is the only leftover notable absence.
Leicester arrival Riyad Mahrez picked up an ankle injury last weekend but is fit to start on Sunday.
Potential Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Delph, Silva, Fernandinho, Foden, Mahrez, Aguero, Sane.
A Chelsea win is priced at odds of 12/5 according to dabblebet , while a draw is available at 13/5. A Man City win is up for 11/10.
Click here to see all of dabblebet’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
The Blues will be seeking redemption this year after losing last year’s Community Shield to Arsenal on penalties after drawing 1-1 in regular time.
Sarri will be expected to deliver for the Blues from the get-go, starting with a victory in the Community Shield over Guardiola. He will be tasked with a top-four finish and at least one piece of silverware at the very minimum in his debut season – after former boss Antonio Conte was dismissed from his post after two seasons in charge despite winning the league in his first year at Stamford Bridge.
Sunday’s fixture will also be an opportunity for the Chelsea team to implement Sarri’s attack-minded philosophy – named ‘Sarriball’ – before the start of the new Premier League season proper, and they will be relying on Jorginho to further adapt the side to the style.
The futures of Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois are still in question amid interest from Real Madrid for the Belgian duo, while Chelsea may still be expecting a few new arrivals come the Thursday transfer window deadline.
Chelsea lost last year’s Community Shield to Arsenal on penalties after drawing 1-1 in normal time, a win that would have given them a fifth win in English football’s traditional curtain-raiser—and one more than City have managed.
The Community Shield could also potentially be an opportunity for £60m summer arrival Mahrez to make his competitive debut for the side, despite concerns that he would miss the match due to sustaining an injury during the pre-season friendly to Bayern Munich.