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The Community Shield is played between the winners of the Premier League and FA Cup. It also helps both the playing teams to test their strengths and overcome weaknesses before the start of the season. It also acts as the foundation for the winning team before the start of the season.
With Manchester City winning the Premier League quite comfortably by reaching 100 points and Chelsea narrowly winning the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester United, these two teams are expected to provide a cracking contest at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
The arrival of Sarri this summer has signalled that Chelsea will look to play attacking football. Yet the style of play which Guardiola successfully professes at Manchester City will force Chelsea to play counter-attacking football today.
Hence, it will be an enthralling encounter between the two dominant sides of Modern day English Football which will be keenly watched by football fans all around the World. Having won 66 games and lost 54 against Manchester City in the head-to-head overall record, Chelsea have the upper-hand on Sunday. Let us have a look at 3 reasons as to why Chelsea will beat Manchester City in the FA Community Shield.
#3 Weak Manchester City team
Manchester City will be without several key players in their clash against Chelsea on Sunday. Due to the World Cup, De Bruyne and Sterling, two architects of Manchester City's historic Premier League victory will be missing. Being the playmakers, their absence will be clearly felt by City today.
Further, there is a chance that Walker will be rested for this clash as he had played in all games for England. Also, David Silva had been in poor form for Spain in their disastrous World Cup campaign. Hence, he too will take time to settle and get his rhythm back. This is also the case with Aguero and Jesus.
Hence, Guardiola might play new faces in the Community Shield today.
#2 Formidable defense
The presence of Azpillicueta, Cahill, Rudiger, and Luiz at the back makes Chelsea's defence probably the best in England. They are experienced, ruff and no-nonsense defenders who are capable of battling with the best strikers of the Premier League.
The young Christensen had performed quite well for Chelsea last season and is a danger to the opposition from set pieces. Chelsea's defence without the presence of Kante, who is their key interceptor, are resilient as they have shown in the past.
Hence, due to the strong Chelsea defense and presence of Kante, Manchester City will find it difficult to penetrate Chelsea in spite of having key playmakers such as Sane and David Silva in their starting lineup.
#1 Talisman Willian
Willian was one of the best players for Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was particularly phenomenal against Mexico in the round of 16. Despite playing well in the quarter-finals against Belgium, he was substituted by Tito to accommodate Douglas Costa. In 5 matches, Willian provided 1 assist for Brazil.
Willian has worked hard on his game over the years at Chelsea. Being an athletic player, he is also good at shooting from long range and is terrific free kick taker. Due to his superb performances, Willian was Chelsea's best player last season.
Hence, he is bound to give trouble to the Manchester City defenders on Sunday particularly on the right wing. An inform Willian is a danger for any top defence and so City should be on full alert while defending against him.
