Manchester City and Arsenal contest the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday and we take the opportunity to look at a variety of betting options for the game and the season ahead with @Playabets
Manchester City
City landed a treble last season, adding the FA Cup and Champions League trophies to the EPL title. They won 28, drew 5 and lost 5 of their league games, scoring 94 league goals and conceding 33. Haaland hit the net 36 times for City in the EPL season alone.
Transfer activity right now includes the signing of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for £30m and they are hoping to bring in Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol heading out, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan are notable names.
In pre-season City lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in Seoul and they beat Bayern 2-1 in Tokyo.
City begin their Premier League season away to Burnley on the 11th August.
Latest Season Long Odds
To win the title 7/10 favourites
Straight forecast City 1st, Arsenal 2nd 9/2
Top EPL Goalscorer Haaland 13/20
Arsenal
The Gunners led the title race for much of last season before running out of steam towards the end of the campaign. They finished as runners up, 5 points behind Manchester City, with a record of 26 wins, 6 draws and 6 defeats, scoring 88 goals and conceding 43.
Transfer activity at the time of writing includes the arrivals of Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65m and Declan Rice from West Ham for £105m as well as defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax for £38m whilst Granit Xhaka has departed.
In pre-season Arsenal demolished MLS All Stars 5-0 and they also beat Barcelone 5-3 in Los Angeles. Jesus picked up a knock and will reportedly miss the start of the season.
Arsenal begin their Premier League season at home to Forest on the 12th August
Latest Season Long Odds
To win the title 4.75/1
Top London club 11/20
Top 2 finish 1.75/1
To win the title “without Man City” 2/1
Community Shield Betting - 90 minutes - R50 Free with 50 Free Spins + 100% match on your first deposit up to R2000
City are trading at around 15/20 to win the game with the draw at 3.03/1 and Arsenal can be backed at around 34/10
A game of 3 goals or more is 7/10 and it's also 7/10 for both teams to score.
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict:
City lost last season's Community Shield to Liverpool by a 3-1 scoreline and in 2021 they lost 1-0 to Leicester. It's little more than a curtain raiser to the new season and for me it's worth just a token interest but given the real business starts the following week, my gut feel is the value lies with Arsenal to win in regulation time.
Bets: Arsenal to win at 34/10 with Playabets
100% match on your first deposit up to R2000 for new customers
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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