THE COMMUNITY SHIELD: The Striker previews the annual curtain raiser for the new season with Leicester City taking on Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday. The match preview includes a recommended BETDAQ bet.

LEICESTER V MANCHESTER CITY

5.15pm Football is back! We kick off the 2021/2022 season with the annual curtain raiser as Leicester take on Manchester City in the Community Shield. Although this is a great day for the fans at Wembley, it’s really only a glorified pre-season friendly and the tempo can be quite slow. That being said, I’m sure Leicester would love to win and it’s a chance at another trophy for them. Manchester City have been in the headlines with the Jack Grealish transfer and they are also chasing Harry Kane at the moment too! They are odds on for the Premier League title, and I think it’s fair to say Leicester will take this game more seriously than City who will view it as a pre-season warm-up.

Whatever the outlook of both sides, we have some very interesting prices on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. And all football bets are also 0% Commission on Saturday! Manchester City will be a popular bet at around 1.95, but that’s just a little short for me. I fancy them to have an excellent season this year and lift the title, but I’m also happy to pass on backing them today. That’s just a little short for me in what is essentially a friendly. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend laying them.

Leicester finished last season on a high in the FA Cup Final, but they did finish the Premier League season poorly to fall out of the Top Four again. They will likely make another challenge at the Top Four this season, but it’s hard to see them cracking into the places – it’s fair to say they have had two superb chances in the last two seasons, but ultimately came up short. I can see them falling a little further behind the Top Four, but they are still a better sides than Spurs and Arsenal for example.

This should be an interesting game, but it will definitely have a friendly feel to it. I can see the tempo being quite slow and nobody making the running if it’s level with 15 minutes to go for example. The players shouldn’t be at peak fitness yet, to be honest. Three out of the last four Community Shield’s have finished a draw – all three finished 1-1. Also, only one game has finished with over 2.5 goals from the last six.

I’m surprised to see under 2.5 goals trading odds against at around 2.2. I know the market always expects a lot of goals with Manchester City involved, but I feel unders offers a shade of value here at the odds. The stats certainly back that up, and as I said I can see a friendly approach from City here. It’s not like they are playing a big rival, and there is a mental advantage to hammering them early in the season. This is a game for small stakes given it’s so early in the season, but 2.2 looks good on unders.

The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.2 with BETDAQ Exchange.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQFAComm