How important is Community Shield to a team’s season?

LONDON, England, August 16, 2026 – The Community Shield takes place between two teams who will be hoping to battle it out for the Premier League this season.

English champions Arsenal take on runners-up and FA Cup winners Manchester City at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Sunday. milkshakeslot.com

But do the stats suggest winning the curtain-raiser in the Welsh capital would indicate a successful season ahead? And what of the goalscorers?

Do Community Shield winners usually win the Premier League?

Considering the current Premier League champions play in the game every season it is surprisingly rare for the Community Shield winners to go on to win the league.

Since the Premier League started in 1992-93, only eight of the 34 winners of the Charity or Community Shield have done so.

Five of those happened in a six-year spell from 2005 until 2010.

Manchester City, in 2019, were the last team to do so – and before that it was Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2011.

Only one of the past 15 winners of the Community Shield have gone on to become champions that season.

Since 1992 the teams who lose the Community Shield have won more league titles that season – 10 in total, including Manchester City for three years in a row between 2021 and 2023.

Last year Crystal Palace beat Liverpool and ended up finishing 15th, although they did go on to win the Conference League. The Reds also had a disappointing domestic campaign, finishing fifth.

Some 47% of the time (16/34) the upcoming season’s Premier League winners had not been involved in the Community Shield – like Arsenal in 2025-26.

And 53% of the time (18/34) the Shield winners have finished above the losers in the league that season.

On 10 occasions the two teams have finished as the top two in the Premier League – with four of those times being the Shield winners top and the losers as runners-up.

Do Premier League winners usually win Community Shield?

The other question is how many Community Shields are won by the previous season’s Premier League winners.

The answer is 18 out of 34 times – so 53%.

But in recent times it has become less frequent. Including Crystal Palace, the FA Cup winners have won eight of the past 12 Shields, something that had only happened five times in the previous 22.

And on three occasions in the Premier League era, neither the league nor cup winners have won it.

Arsenal (1999 and 2023) and Manchester United (2010) qualified as Premier League runners-up and beat the Double winners in the game.

Do Community Shield goalscorers go on to have good seasons?

This one is a bit of a mixed bag.

Crystal Palace’s 2025 scorers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr netted 37 goals between them last season.

Hugo Ekitike scored his first of 17 goals in his debut season for Liverpool – but Jeremie Frimpong did not enjoy a great first campaign after netting.

In 2023 Cole Palmer netted for Manchester City in their game against Arsenal (a match they would go on to lose on penalties after Leandro Trossard’s injury-time equaliser).

He would go on to score 22 Premier League goals and be named young player of the season… for Chelsea, having joined them for £42.5m.

The previous season, Darwin Nunez scored on his Liverpool debut – and Erling Haaland failed to notch on his City bow.

That led to post-match discussion about Nunez looking the better player.

However, Haaland went on to 52 goals that season, with Nunez netting only 15.

Kelechi Iheanacho only scored four Premier League goals after his 2021 Community Shield winner.

But back in 2019 Raheem Sterling’s Shield strike for City against former club Liverpool kick-started the most productive season of his career (31 goals).

A version of this article first appeared before the 2025 Community Shield

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando da Cruz insists his players can be proud of their performance despite sharing the spoils with Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Glamour Boys were forced to share the spoils with the Brazilians after they played out to a 1-1 draw at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

The Glamour Boys took the lead through Langelihle Phili before Cassius Mailula restored parity for Sundowns, with the two sides ultimately settling for a draw.

The result keeps Amakhosi top of the Betway Premiership standings with seven points from three matches, while Sundowns sit sixth on four points.

The Frenchman acknowledged Sundowns’ dominance in possession but was pleased with how his team limited the Brazilians’ opportunities.

“We opened them because it was 1-0 for us, we concede one goal on set-pieces, but we need to say that it’s a good team they had a lot of the ball, but we did not concede a lot of chances,” Da Cruz told SuperSport after the game.

“So, we were strong today we can be proud of the team.”

The post Da Cruz Proud of Chiefs Despite Sundowns Draw appeared first on SportsClub.

Le RC Lens reçoit le Paris Saint-Germain ce dimanche à 20h45 au stade Bollaert-Delelis, à l’occasion du Trophée des Champions. Une affiche entre le vainqueur de la Coupe de France et le champion de France en titre.

Le PSG arrive avec un avantage certain : les Parisiens ont déjà disputé un match officiel cette saison et viennent de remporter la Supercoupe d’Europe face à Aston Villa (2-1).

De quoi aborder ce rendez-vous avec une première victoire et un trophée en poche.
Face à eux, Lens pourra compter sur son public pour tenter de faire tomber le club de la capitale.

Les Sang et Or auront également à cœur de bien démarrer leur saison et de s’offrir un nouveau trophée après leur succès en Coupe de France.

Le PSG vise ainsi un nouveau sacre quelques jours après son titre européen, tandis que Lens rêve de créer la surprise à Bollaert. Coup d’envoi : 20h45.

The post Lens-PSG : le Trophée des Champions en jeu à Bollaer appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Orlando Pirates have been dealt a major injury blow with midfielder Sihle Nduli set to spend around four months on the sidelines.

Pirates will be aiming to return to winning ways when they face Chippa United this afternoon, but the Buccaneers will have to contend with a number of injury concerns.

Sihle Nduli has been ruled out for a extended period with a Grade 3 ankle ligament tear, while Andre de Jong will also miss the clash through a quad strain.

The Buccaneers also revealed that Tshepang Moremi will faces a late fitness test after picking up a knock in midweek.

“Following a 1-1 draw against AmaZulu in midweek at the Kings Park Stadium, Orlando Pirates return to action this afternoon as they take on Chippa United at the same venue,” Pirates said in a statement.

“The Buccaneers will, however, head into the encounter without midfielder Sihle Nduli, who sustained a significant ankle injury during the clash against Usuthu.

“The 30-year-old was forced off during the match following a heavy challenge and, after further assessment by the Club’s medical team, has been ruled out for an extended period.

“Nduli is expected to be sidelined for approximately four months after suffering a Grade 3 ligament tear, effectively ruling him out of action for the remainder of the year.

“His absence represents a setback for the Buccaneers, with the midfielder having recently returned from a lengthy layoff from a previous injury.

“Pirates will also be without Andre de Jong for this afternoon’s encounter. The midfielder has been ruled out after picking up a quad strain and will not be considered for selection against the Chilli Boys.

“Meanwhile, the Bucs medical team have shared some light regarding the availability of Tshepang Moremi.

“The Bafana Bafana international picked up a knock during the midweek encounter and will undergo a late fitness assessment before a final decision is made regarding his availability.

“With a quick turnaround between fixtures, the focus now shifts firmly towards Chippa United as Pirates look to return to winning ways this afternoon.”

The post Pirates Dealt Major Blow as Nduli Faces Four-Month Out appeared first on SportsClub.