The Community Shield scourge: what is it?

Who really wants to win the Community Shield, which begins this trip?

The classic winter curtain-raiser, the Community Shield is often derided as a glorified helpful. After all, it does n't really matter whether you win it or not, does it?

Basically, subsequent history tells us that it does. As Manchester City and Manchester United prepare to square off at Wembley on Saturday, Manchester City might want to consider that.

It's a duplicate of next season's FA Cup final – in which United beat their regional rivals, the reigning Premier League leaders, 2-1 – and the 2011 Community Shield. United also won on that occasion – but they did n't go on to retain their Premier League title...

The Community Shield scourge: what is it?

Pitting the previous campaign's Premier League champions against the previous season's FA Cup winners (or, in the event that a team does the double, the Premier League runners-up ), the Community Shield dates all the way back to 1908 – when it began life as the Charity Shield, its first staging taking place between the First Division champions, United, and Southern League champions, QPR The winners have n't always been cursed – but that does seem to be the case nowadays.

Only one area has won both the Premier League title and the Community Shield since Sir Alex Ferguson's United won the 2010/2011 Premier League title after defeating Chelsea 3-1 in the previous year. That was Pep Guardiola's City in 2018/19 – when they pipped England in a pulsating name competition to be crowned warriors by a single place.

But, of the last 13 team to win the Community Shield, 12 have failed to end the season as Premier League leaders. Arsenal have suffered the curse five times, including last year when they defeated City on penalties, with United falling victim to it three times, City double, Liverpool and Leicester when each, and then both.

This will be City's third right Community Shield appearance. They have lost all three of them, and while they may not want to enjoy another fight, it might be the best move as they attempt to win a second consecutive top flight record.