Jose Mourinho’s first competitive fixture in charge of Manchester United takes place this weekend with the Red Devils taking on league champions Leicester City in the Community Shield- the traditional curtain raiser to the new Premiership season.
The Special One has been part of four Community Shield games. His first, back in 2005, saw Chelsea triumph 2-1 over Arsenal- also Mourinho’s only win in the Shield, and Blues defended their league crown with aplomb that year. The other three- vs Liverpool in 2006, against United in 2007 and last year against Arsenal, all saw Mourinho end up on the losing side. In two of those three seasons, Mourinho was sacked midway through the season.
So, while some might talk of the Community Shield as nothing more than a glorified friendly, Mourinho will be keen to make a good impression and he will treat this with the same intensity as a league fixture
Video highlights from 2005- Jose Mourinho’s only Community Shield win
United’s returns in pre-season have been a mixed bag. They beat Wigan 2-0, then lost 4-1 to Dortmund in China, had a fixture against Man City in the same country cancelled, then hammered Galatasaray 5-2 in Sweden before drawing 0-0 with Everton in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial game.
The highlight has obviously been the Galatasaray win, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s special strike in that fixture.
With Chris Smalling injured for this fixture and Phil Jones still waiting to return to full fitness, Mourinho is likely to ask Daley Blind and Eric Bailly to play in the heart of defence, with Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia on either side of the duo.
Upfront, there are plenty of options for Mourinho, and one should expect Ibrahimovic, Rooney and Martial to all start, with Mkhitaryan and Wingard vying for one spot on the right. Mourinho has said he will not use Rooney in midfield, and the likes of Herrera, Schneiderlin, Carrick and Mata will all be keen to impress their boss before the start of the new season.
Leicester, by virtue of being Premiership champions, have hobnobbed with the biggies, if one could say, in pre-season. After a couple of easy hitouts against Oxford United and Nuneaton Town, the Foxes competed in the Champions Cup, where they beat Celtic and lost to Paris SG and Barcelona.
Leicester in the International Champions Cup
Celtic 1-1 Leicester (Leicester win on penalties)
PSG 4-0 Leicester
Barcelona 4-2 Leicester
Foxes fans will be keen to see how new signing Ahmed Musa fares. Musa scored twice against Barca, and at £16m, is the club’s record signing.
Despite being awarded a three match ban at the end of the season, Robert Huth is eligible to feature in this game as his final match ban will be served in the Foxes’ opening game of the season against Hull.
Punters have the Red Devils as firm favourites for this clash. For example, Man Utd are at 1.86 to win the Community Shield at 10Bet, while Leicester are being quoted at 4.35. The Foxes have also lost N’Golo Kante in this transfer window, while United have strengthened their side with the acquisitions of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Leicester v Man Utd (Head 2 Head last 5 games)
Leicester 1-1 Man Utd
Man Utd 1-1 Leicester
Man Utd 3-1 Leicester
Leicester 5-3 Man Utd
Man Utd 1-0 Leicester
Leicester City v Man Utd
Date and Venue: 7 August, 2016 (4 pm) at Wembley Stadium, London
Referee: Craig Pawson