Who should start Man Utd's Community Shield clash with City and Premier League opener? (2024)

Follow live coverage of Manchester City vs Manchester United in the Community Shield today

Two and a half months since they ended the 2023-24 season with a statement 2-1 win against Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, Manchester United start this campaign against the same opponents and in the same London location in the Community Shield.

The game today (Saturday) may be considered a glorified friendly by some, but the meeting with Pep Guardiola’s four-in-a-row Premier League champions will be an early test for Erik ten Hag’s side. A lot has happened since that FA Cup win — including an end-of-season review resulting in Ten Hag staying on as manager, the signings of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee and Jadon Sancho being reintegrated into the squad.

But United have already lost Yoro, a €70million ($76m; £60m) buy from French club Lille, to a foot injury that will keep the defender out for three months after surgery, while first-choice No 9 Rasmus Hojlund will also miss the start of the season with a hamstring problem.

Yoro’s fellow centre-backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are doubts for this match while Ten Hag said earlier in the week that full-backs Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka would have to be assessed before decisions are made on their participation in the game.

So, who should the Dutchman pick to play in the Community Shield? And what line-up should he select for their opening game of the Premier League season, at home against Fulham on Friday? Our United writers Carl Anka, Mark Critchley and Laurie Whitwell discuss both matters.

How should United line up for the Community Shield?

Carl Anka: A stat we often turn to: in his 10 (ten!) seasons at the club, Shaw is yet to play more than 2,000 minutes in back-to-back seasons. For Saturday’s chance at minor silverware/a glorified friendly win — delete as appropriate — it may be better to leave him on the bench than risk him, given he’s a doubt.

Not having Yoro and Hojlund weakens Ten Hag’s hand, but there are enough bodies, if not like-for-like quality, to carry on — and provided Maguire is available after his calf injury, he should partner Lisandro Martinez in central defence.

The manager should repeat the 4-2-2-2 split-striker system that brought such success in the FA Cup final: stay compact in the middle, attack the space behind City’s left-back Josko Gvardiol and ask Wan-Bissaka for one more round of Wembley lockdown defending.

Mark Critchley: I’d also pick up where United left off and use the 4-2-2-2 system that frustrated City at Wembley in May, albeit while making some considerations for match fitness and pre-season form. Amad certainly warrants a place based on his showings in pre-season (he scored in a 2-0 win against Rangers and a 3-2 defeat of Real Betis), which allows Alejandro Garnacho to be eased back in after helping Argentina win Copa America last month.

There are not as many options in midfield as out wide, so Kobbie Mainoo comes straight back into the XI following his break having got to the European Championship final with England.

Left-back is the real problem. Experimenting with winger Antony in that position is tempting, given this is the closest thing in the calendar to a free hit, but I’d stick with academy full-back Harry Amass. There’s a risk of over-exposing the 17-year-old, but he did not look out of place on tour and needs must.

Laurie Whitwell: Can I take a slightly different approach to my esteemed colleagues and suggest the formation in the FA Cup final was closer to a 4-2-4, with Marcus Rashford and Garnacho largely level with Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay in attack?

Perhaps that’s splitting hairs, but I think the difference is relevant because it meant the wingers, though narrow, were higher, to disrupt City’s build-up play.

We saw the same system in United’s most recent two friendlies, the win over Betis and a 3-0 loss against Liverpool, after Hojlund’s injury. It seems inevitable Ten Hag will go that way again, given his statements about Zirkzee needing time to adapt after his €42.5million move from Bologna in Italy’s Serie A.

The question is whether Mason Mount or McTominay plays alongside Fernandes, but I think Mount did enough on the tour in the United States to warrant a go. Amad should start instead of Garnacho given his involvement in pre-season, and it’s very tempting to go with Amass and 20-year-old Toby Collyertoo — especially as Ten Hag says he is treating this as a pre-season game.

Although, given it’s City and that those returning from the European Championship and the Copa America will need minutes, the argument to stick with experience is slightly more compelling.

Centre-back fitness issues may leave only one possible combination.

What’s United’s strongest XI to start the Premier League season?

Anka: Fulham head coach Marco Silva is fond of a 4-2-3-1, in which his side attempt to overload one wide area of the pitch before firing in crosses towards the back post on the other.

Maguire’s aerial dominance will be useful in both boxes, provided he’s fit, and Zirkzee should start up front. His role will be to pull defenders out of position and create spaces for Rashford and Garnacho.

Critchley: Ten Hag needs positive results from the get-go, which means fielding as close to a first-choice XI as possible, even if that means risking a couple of players.

Garnacho and Zirkzee will hopefully get some minutes in their legs in the Community Shield and there is an argument to gamble on the fitness of Shaw and Maguire, even if they do not feature at all at Wembley today.

Whitwell: That Premier League opener on Friday night will be the time to break the glass on Ten Hag’s preferred system, which means a return to a typical striker, with the aim of United scoring more goals than they did in the manager’s previous two seasons.

Ten Hag will hope Maguire is fit, while Shaw is a must to provide balance. Casemiro’s place will depend on how he performs at Wembley — young Collyer is knocking on the door.

(Top photo: Amad celebrates scoring against Betis; Ben Nichols/ISI Photos/Getty Images)