Competition: Community Shield
Fixture: Arsenal v Chelsea
Date: Sunday, August 1st, 2015
Venue: Wembley
Kick off time: 16:00 hrs BST
For many of us it’s still impossible not to call the Community Shield by its former name, the ‘Charity shield’ but the name regardless, it’s the 93rd match of this type on Sunday. Cup winners Arsenal and Premier League winners Chelsea will battle it out or more likely, ease themselves into the season nicely with this early trip to Wembley.
Signings and Team News
Arsenal: No major signings as Wenger seems content with his squad and judging by last season his team is really starting to mature. They did sign Petr Cech from the Stamford Bridge team though and if he starts he will be keen to play a blinder. There’s rumours of Benzema, Lewandowski and Busquets all possibly heading for the Emirates but we’ve heard a lot of this before!
Alexis Sanchez has been on Copa America duties and is not expected to take part.
Chelsea: Their only significant signings has been Juan Cuadrado the midfielder from Fiorentina and Stoke’s Asmir Begovic. Former Man Utd strike Radmael Falcao is also at Stamford bridge on loan. Mourinho has complained about not having much money to spend but the stats show that no manager in Europe has spent more than him over the years.
Diego Costa is out with a hamstring problem.
Betting Advice
The Charity shield is a tough one to call and is usually won by the team who is more motivated. An interesting stat is that Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in 13 attempts as Arsenal Manger. It is clear that Mourinho dislikes Wenger so could he get his Chelsea side more fired up than Arsenal for this one?
More importantly it is clear that the Community Shield is not usually a priority for the blues, having lost 4 of their last 5 appearances in this event. The big Wembley pitch suits Arsenal possession style well as demonstrated when they easily beat Villa in the cup final.
For these reasons I recommend backing Arsenal +0.5 in the Asian handicap market.
Best Bet: Arsenal +0.5 at 1.55 with bet365