England - Community Shield: Man Utd vs PortsmouthTraditionally, the start of every season in England is the match between the winner of the Premier League and the winner of the FA Cup, or simply Community Shield. This year, champions Manchester United take on Portsmouth, the team who had excellent last season and spiced it up by winning the FA Cup. This game is not highly regarded by the teams in England, but both teams will want a good start of the season. Manchester will have enough motives to beat Portsmouth as they were thrown out of last year FA Cup by the same team. Man Utd will have troubles with strike power as both Rooney and Ronaldo are injured. Portsmouth on the other side is hopeful that Crouch and Defoe partnership in attack will be the deciding advantage that could win them the trophy.
The champions without strikers
After Christiano Ronaldo finally decided to stay at Old Trafford, Sir Alex can focus on future challenges. Having won two most important titles last season, he must concentrate on defending them. This game serves as another preparation for the league campaign. The squad stayed almost the same as last season, which is a good thing considering their success in the year behind us. Ferguson tried to sign a quality striker, mainly Berbatov, and will now regret for not succeeding, as both Rooney and Ronaldo are injured leaving Tevez as only proven goal scorer at the beginning of the season. Saha did not play in pre season as his future is undecided, and young Frazier Campbell is still not ready for the big scene. One big difference from last season is that assistant coach Carlos Queiroz left the team to become head coach of Portugal national team, and this can prove to be a big loss as he is responsible to some point for team tactics, and his relationship with the Portuguese players in the club. Lack of strikers will probably mean that Ryan Giggs will partner Carlos Tevez. Manchester beat their opponents in pre season 2:1 and will look to record another win.
Redknapp paired Crouch and Defoe
The team was flying high last season, and managed to win FA Cup, which will be a huge boost for the club. Redknapp saved most of the team, only Muntari left, and managed to lure Peter Crouch into the club, who will now form partnership with Jermain Defoe. This can prove to be the best decision since Redknapp took over, as he had brought in a lot of strikers over the years, but it seems that he finally hit the target. These two will have good back up from young Ben Sahar, who arrived from Chelsea on a loan deal. Another new signing seems spot on, and that is winger Glenn Little, who showed in pre season that he works well with Crouch and Defoe. Kanu has just signed a new contract, and stated his desire to help the club progress, though he will probably miss this game through injury. Lassana Diara frightened Redknapp when he got injured against Oxford, but it seems that he will be ready for this game.
Betting verdict
This game is usually taken as a friendly rather than a competitive match, but both teams will want to make a good introduction for next week’s start of the Premier League. Manchester will be without Rooney and Ronaldo, and Tevez will need help from midfield players if they are to score. Portsmouth will probably miss Kanu, but with Crouch and Defoe up front, the team is likely to score, even against the best defense in England. Because this game is not being taken too seriously, both teams will play attacking football and we should expect some goals, to mark a start of the new season in England. Therefore, we recommend betting on over 2.5 goals.
Our tip: Bet 5 on Over 2.5 goals
Odds 2 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers
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