2024-08-10 21:20:01
Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola will both be looking to lay down a marker for the campaign ahead as Manchester United take on Manchester City in Saturday’s Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium.
As ever, the traditional curtain-raiser for the season ahead brings together last term’s FA Cup winners (Man United) and the current Premier League Champions (Man City).
Both teams have been relatively quiet so far on the recruitment front during the summer break. CIty’s only major signing has been Brazilian winger Savinho from Troyes, with their frontline weakened following the sale of Julián Álvarez to Atlético Madrid.
United have meanwhile snapped up Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and Leny Yoro from Lille, however the French teenager looks set for a significant spell on the sidelines after sustaining a foot injury during pre-season.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live, wherever you are in the world.
The first piece of silverware of the new English domestic season is up for grabs in the Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester United vs. Manchester City: When and where?
Man United take on Man City in the Community Shield at Wembley, on Saturday, August 10. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. BST local time in the UK, which is 10 a.m. ET or 7 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 12 midnight AEST in Australia.
How to watch the Man United vs. Man City game online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the Community Shield locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream the Man United vs. Man City game in the US
The Community Shield is streaming exclusively live in the US on ESPN Plus. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) on Saturday for viewers in the States.
How to livestream the Man United vs. Man City game in the UK for free
The great news for footie fans in the UK is that free-to-air broadcaster ITV will be showing this season’s Community Shield match live, which means you’ll also be able to stream for free via its online platform ITVX.
Coverage begins on ITV1 at 2:15 p.m. BST ahead of the 3 p.m. kickoff.
As the match is being broadcast on ITV1, that means you’ll also have the option of watching the game online for free via the network’s on-demand streaming service, ITVX (formerly ITV Hub).
The service has an updated app that’s available for Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as a vast array of smart TVs.
Can I livestream Man United vs. Man City in Canada?
Canadian soccer fans looking to watch the Community Shield can watch all the action live via Sportsnet.
Sportsnet is available via most cable operators, but cord-cutters can subscribe to the network’s standalone streaming service Sportsnet Plus instead, with prices starting at CA$20 per month or CA$180 per year.
Livestream Man United vs. Man City game in Australia
Football fans Down Under can watch the Community Shield on the streaming service Optus Sport, which is also showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.
With exclusive rights to screen every EPL match live this season, as well as Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.
If you’re already an Optus network customer you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$10 a month. If you’re not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25.
Quick tips for streaming the Community Shield using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming FA Cup matches may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
