With just 10 days to go until the eagerly anticipated Premier League season kicks off, the FA Community Shield gives fans the ultimate warm-up act.
Showmax has announces that it will be streaming the Community Shield live, as Manchester City and Manchester United renew their rivalry in the traditional curtain-raiser on its mobile sport plan. DStv Premium subscribers can also catch the action on their usual SuperSport channels
The Community Shield traditionally kicks off the English football season, and this year’s match promises to be a blockbuster.
The game, which kicks off at 16:00 at Wembley Stadium in the UK, will be available at no additional cost to Showmax PL subscribers.
The Community Shield is a repeat of last season’s FA Cup final, which saw Erik ten Hag’s troops emerge victorious against their noisy neighbours.
The rivalry between the two Manchester clubs has intensified in recent years, with high-stakes matches becoming the norm. Fans can expect another pulsating contest as both teams look to gain early momentum for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Showmax delighted with Premier League offering
Showmax CEO Marc Jury said Showmax was thrilled to be bringing world-class football action to subscribers: “It’s the perfect appetiser to whet the appetite for the upcoming Premier League season.
“The match between Man United and Man City is a dream clash for any football fan, and we can’t wait to see these two titans battle it out for the first trophy of the season. This is an exciting time for football, and we’re proud to be at the heart of the action.”
Last year, Arsenal claimed the Community Shield in a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Manchester City.
City have now lost their last three Community Shields, losing to Arsenal, Leicester City and Liverpool in the past three years.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will have revenge on his mind as he attempts to win his third Community Shield – and his first since 2019, having lost the last three.
For Erik ten Hag, this is his first stab at winning the competition, but in his short time at Old Trafford he has already enjoyed success at Wembley twice, in the 2022/23 League Cup as well as this year’s FA Cup triumph.
The first time United and City faced each other in the Community Shield, or the Charity Shield as it was then known, was at Maine Road in October 1956
This was the first competitive Manchester Derby played under floodlights, and was settled by a single goal, scored by United forward Dennis Viollet. It would be 55 years before the two sides contested the trophy again, in August 2011. United again prevailed, having overturned a 2-0 half time deficit, with Portuguese winger Nani the hero of the day, scoring the equaliser just before the hour mark, and then bagging the winner in the fourth minute of injury time.
Such has been their dominance for a long period of time. There have been only three occasions since 2007 that at least one of the Manchester clubs hasn’t been involved in the Community Shield match, although surprisingly this is only the third time in history that they have come up against each other in the competition.
United will be hoping to take the trophy home for the 22nd time, and City for the seventh time in this feisty encounter.
How the result will affect both teams going into the new Premier League season is unknown, but both teams will want to kick off the new campaign on a winning note.
The new Premier League season kicks off on 16 August, with a full fixture list packed with enticing matchups. Showmax will continue to bring fans closer to the action with all 380 games live on Showmax Premier League for mobile devices.
There are plenty of other exciting fixtures on the opening weekend of the new season. A rejuvenated Arsenal takes on Wolves, Liverpool face newcomers Ipswich Town, while arguably the game of the weekend sees defending champions Manchester City take on a newly managed Chelsea team.
How can fans get Showmax Premier League on their phones?
Sign up for the Showmax Premier League mobile plan for R69 p/m at www.showmax.com for all the Premier League action.
Which Premier League team do you support?
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