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As always, the Community Shield kicks off the official football season in England. We have here a very interesting match-up between champions Manchester United and Championship team Wigan. It will be the first official game for the red devils under David Moyes, and one of the biggest games of the season for Wigan, who got relegated last season despite winning the FA Cup.
Manchester United will be a different team this year, it is widely expected that the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson will hurt them, and the fact that they didn`t make any signings over the summer does not sound good either. More so, United has been very disappointing in friendly games over the pre-season and they might need some time to make things work under David Moyes. But despite all these, Manchester still remains a top-class team, with a fantastic squad and an underrated team cohesion. Not making any transfers, United kept its core from the last seasons and this is a huge advantage they have over other Premier League contenders. Their starting line-up for today looks great:
De Gea – Rafael, Vidic, Evans, Evra – Carrick, Cleverley, Jones – Welbeck, Van Persie, Zaha
Wigan managed a huge upset with a late goal over Manchester City in the FA Cup final, making history by winning the trophy. But besides that, they have been really poor over the course of the season and were deservingly relegated. Wigan lost some important players over the summer break, so they are a different team from last year, much weaker. Like United, Wigan has had a very bad pre-season, playing really bad in friendlies. They beat Barnsley 4-0 in the first round of the Championship, but Barnsley is a very poor team. Owen Coyle (who took over in the summer after Roberto Martinez left) will field the following first eleven:
Carson – Boyce, Perch, Barnett, Crainey – Watson, McCarthy, McArthur – Maloney, Holt, Beausejour
An interesting thing here is that United is a total nightmare for Wigan, the match-up between these two teams being disastrous for the FA Cup winners. Manchester beat Wigan by 2 goals or more in 7 out of their last 8 meetings, with an incredible goal difference of 29-1. Also, the red devils should feel at home today on Wembley, with the stadium being filled by their fans.
Rooney is highly unlikely to feature. Powell and Fletcher are unavailable, with Evans and Nani being doubtful. For Wigan, Caldwell and Ramis will miss the game and Rogne is questionable.
Despite Manchester`s struggles in the pre-season, anything else than a clear victory for them today would be a huge surprise. Friendlies don`t mean much, and the difference in class is just huge. I expect United to show its real face today, and I think many people will be surprised by the power that the red devils will get from team cohesion – especially against a team which changed half of their starting eleven. The players know eachother, they know how to play to eachother`s strenght and Moyes, being a clever manager, has surely taken advantage of this in preparations. Experience should also count in a match with a trophy at stake.
Expect a spirited United performance and a really big victory today. My call would be 5-0, but I`m going with arguments and facts, so maybe a 2-0 or 3-0 seems a little bit more likely. There are no premises for Wigan to break the horrific run they have against Manchester United. Good luck.
Pick: Manchester United (-1,5)
Odds: 2.08 @ Sbobet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 10.8
Event date: 11 August
