Leicester City vs Manchester United: Community Shield Preview & Prediction

Premier League champions Leicester City face FA Cup winners Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday afternoon in what will be Jose Mourinho’s first competitive match in charge of the Red Devils.

In one of the biggest shocks in the history of football, the Foxes finished top of the pile last term – 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal – to win their first top-flight title in their 132-year history.

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were two of the club’s heroes, scoring 41 goals between them, and both still remain at the King Power Stadium despite being heavily linked with moves to Premier League rivals Arsenal this summer.

However, another key man from last season, N’Golo Kante, has joined Chelsea, but Claudio Ranieri has boosted his squad with additions such as forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow, midfielder Nampalys Mendy from Nice and Poland international winger Bartosz Kapustka.

The former especially shot to prominence with a brilliant brace in the 4-2 defeat to Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday night.

Claudio Ranieri will take charge of a team at Wembley for the first time on Sunday, while this is Leicester’s first appearance in the Community Shield since 1971.

Jose Mourinho poses after being unveiled as the new Man United manager – Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Meanwhile, Mourinho has also been a busy man since taking over from Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford shortly after United’s 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, bringing in three players.

The Portuguese boss wants to make the club title contenders again following a fifth-placed finish last season, and has boosted his squad with the additions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly, while he is still hopeful of completing a world-record £100 million move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.

If last year’s fixtures between the two are anything to go by it could be a tight contest in the capital, with both matches finishing in 1-1 draws. The first of those was the game that Vardy scored in his 11th successive Premier League game, breaking former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record of 10.

The Red Devils do hold the advantage in Wembley finals between the two clubs though, beating Leicester 3-1 in the 1963 FA Cup final.

Team News:

Ranieri says he has a full squad to choose from with Jamie Vardy back in training after featuring for England at Euro 2016, while Ahmed Musa is pushing for a start after his impressive performance against Barcelona in midweek.

Manchester United could field all three of their summer signings, while Three Lions duo Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford may feature behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack.

Premier League 2015/16: Leicester City – 1st (81 pts); Manchester United – 5th (66 pts)
Previous Meeting: Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City (May 1, 2016)
Form: Leicester City – WDWWLL; Manchester United – WWWLWD
Key Men: Leicester City – Jamie Vardy; Manchester United – Wayne Rooney
Shoot Says: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester United