The winners of the FA Community Shield in England over the past decade never finished beyond the third place in the season that followed in the final Premier League standings.
Arsenal, the 2015 winners, went on to claim the runners-up place in the league last season. On four occasions, Manchester United started the campaign by winning the Community Shield before going on to finish as league champions – 2013, 2011, 2008 and 2007.
In the other five occasions, these last 10 years, the list reads:
2014 – Arsenal (third in league).
2012 – Man. United (second).
2010 – Man. United (second).
2009 – Chelsea (third).
2006 – Liverpool (third).
This year’s contenders are champions Leicester City and FA Cup winners Manchester United. The match will be played at Wembley Stadium, tomorrow.
The Foxes shocked the football world last season as an unfashionable side under the management of Claudio Ranieri went on to win the title. This is only the second occasion that Leicester will be present for the curtain-raiser after 1971. They beat Liverpool 1-0.
On that occasion, double holders Arsenal were unable to take part in the FA Charity Shield as they had been contracted to go on a pre-season tour that clashed with the fixture.
So, FA Cup final runners-up Liverpool and second division winners Leicester were invited to take part instead. Steve Whitworth scored the goal that mattered for Leicester to beat the Reds.
United won the FA Cup in May, beating Crystal Palace 2-1 in the final for their 12th title to share the all-time record with Arsenal.
This will be United’s 30th Charity Shield, winning a record 20.
Their new boss, Jose Mourinho, will figure in the contest for the second straight year, although he ended a loser for Chelsea in the summer of 2015.
Last season, at the King Power Stadium, Leicester and United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw (Vardy; Schweinsteiger). On May 1 another similar draw was registered at Old Trafford (Martial; Morgan).
Ranieri has admitted the club were left ‘crying’ over the departure of N’Golo Kante but is adamant that the midfielder’s void can be filled.
Kante was one of the Foxes’ standout players last season, but opted to join Chelsea in a £30 million last month. However, Leicester did succeed in keeping striker Jamie Vardy at the club despite a huge offer from Arsenal.
Ranieri said: “Last year, Leicester lost Esteban Cambiasso and everybody was crying. Now we are crying because we lost Kante. But don’t worry, football in Leicester will keep going.”
Mourinho has told his United players he won’t be conducting the evaluation meetings that predecessor Louis van Gaal had staged the day after league matches to establish what players did right or wrong.
The Portuguese mentor does place huge emphasis on performance stats and data, but it’s believed he will be bringing only one analysis technician onto his backroom team.
Meanwhile, Manchester United continue with their chase of French international midfielder Paul Pogba from Juventus.
They have signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (free), Tyler Reid (undisclosed), Joe Rothwell (undisclosed), Ashley Fletcher (undisclosed) and Eric Bailly (£30m) so far this summer.
FA Community Shield
Leicester City-Man. United 17:00
(tomorrow, Wembley Stadium)
The Championship
Birmingham-Cardiff City
Blackburn-Norwich
Bristol City-Wigan Athletic
Derby-Brighton
Huddersfield-Brentford
Ipswich-Barnsley
Nottm Forest-Burton
Reading-Preston
Rotherham-Wolves
Tomorrow:
QPR-Leeds United 13:00
Sheff. Wed-Aston Villa 17:30
League One
Bolton-Sheffield United
Bradford-Port Vale
Bury-Charlton
Millwall-Oldham
Northampton-Fleetwood
Oxford-Chesterfield
Rochdale-Peterborough
Scunthorpe-Bristol Rovers
Shrewsbury-MK Dons
Southend-Gillingham
Swindon-Coventry City
Walsall-Wimbledon
League Two
Accrington-Doncaster Rovers
Blackpool-Exeter City
Cambridge-Barnet
Cheltenham-Leyton Orient
Crawley-Wycombe
Grimsby-Morecambe
Hartlepool-Colchester
Newport-Mansfield
Plymouth-Luton Town
Portsmouth-Carlisle
Stevenage-Crewe
Yeovil-Notts County