Anderson joined the Blues from Nottingham Forest this summer.
And, after commencing pre-season training with his new club this past week following an impressive World Cup with England, the combative midfielder is straight in from the start here in Cardiff.
FA Cup winners City face Premier League champions Arsenal at the Principality Stadium, kick-off 15:00 (UK).
In total, there are five changes - Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Nico O’Reilly and Abdukodir Khusanov also in from the start.
Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush drop to the bench with Matheus Nunes, Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho not involved.
Rúben Dias skippers the team.
TEAMS
ARSENAL XI: Raya, White, Gabriel, Mosquera, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Guimaraes, Odegaard (C), Madueke, Tzolis, Havertz
Subs: Kepa, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Merino, Rice, Eze, Dowman, Saka, Gyokeres
CITY XI: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias (C), Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Kovačić, Anderson, Semenyo, Foden, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Rulli, Guéhi, Marmoush, Cherki, Nico, Grealish, Aït-Nouri, Reis, Lewis
TACTICS
Gianluigi Donnarumma is between the sticks for City and protected by a back four of Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly.
Mateo Kovačić, Elliot Anderson and Phil Foden will man the middle ground with Antoine Semenyo and Jérémy Doku providing width alongside talismanic striker Erling Haaland.
SERIOUS BUSINESS
For some, the major domestic trophies to win each season are the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup with the Community Shield seen as merely a curtain-raiser friendly ahead of the start of a new campaign.
Try telling that to Enzo Maresca as he looks to begin his tenure as new manager in style on Sunday.
Maresca made it clear in his pre-match press conference that the clash with Arsenal is very much an exercise in securing silverware as well as hitting top form on the eve of a new Premier League campaign.
“For me personally it is a trophy,” Maresca explained in his media briefing.
“When trophies and a final are there, you always try to win the game.
“So, no friendly game at all. It’s a trophy that we are going to try our best to win, to win the first trophy.”
NEW CITY
We’ve already seen a a snapshot of the new City under Enzo Maresca.
The signs have been hugely positive in three pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong and Korea during our Tour of Asia.
And now the Italian has more players at his disposal with those making the latter stages of the World Cup having come back to the fold.
A host of them are starting, with some having to take an initial watching brief from the bench.
Just seeing their names on the teamsheet, especially new boy Elliot Anderson, is a massive fillip for the Italian and the Blues as the real business starts today.
MATCH STATS
-Only Manchester United (21) have won the Community Shield more often than Arsenal (17, including shared), with the Gunners winning each of their last five. Arsenal have also won all three matches when reigning Premier League champions (1998, 2002, 2004).
-City won our last appearance in the Community Shield, beating Manchester United on penalties in 2024. However, we’ve been runners-up in the match nine times, with only Manchester United doing so more (10).
-The last 10 occasions the Community Shield match has been between the league champions and the FA Cup winners, the FA Cup holders have won eight times. The exceptions were both City, beating Chelsea in 2018 and Man Utd in 2024.
-Arsenal have won all three of their Community Shield matches against City, beating us 4-0 in 1934, 3-0 in 2014 and 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 2023.
-During the period it was first used between 2001 and 2007, Arsenal played more games at the Millennium Stadium than any other side (10). This will be their fifth Community Shield match at the ground, winning in 2002 (v Liverpool) and 2004 (v Manchester United) and losing in 2003 (v Manchester United) and 2005 (v Chelsea).
-This is just City’s second ever match at the Millennium Stadium, with the other coming in a UEFA Cup qualifying match against TNS in August 2003 (won 2-0).
-Arsenal are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions, winning six and drawing two (though one draw ended in a penalty shootout loss to PSG). They had lost four of their six games prior to this run (W1 D1), with two of those defeats being against City.
-City have lost just one of our last 12 games in all competitions (W9 D2), though it was our final game of the 2025/26 campaign against Aston Villa (1-2).
-Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta won both of his Community Shield matches as a player (2014, 2015) and has won both so far as a manager (2020, 2023), with both managerial victories coming via a penalty shootout.
-Enzo Maresca will be the first City manager whose first game in charge is in the Community Shield. The last time a manager’s first game in charge of a top-flight club came in this match was in 2018, with Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea losing to City.
Premier League 2026/27 home tickets now on sale
General admission tickets for Manchester City’s home 2026/27 Premier League fixtures are now on sale to Premium, Matchday and Junior Members.
Season Ticket Members, meanwhile, are now also able to purchase additional tickets for selected games.
Premier League match-by-match ticket prices for junior and adult Matchday Members have been retained at the same rate for a third consecutive season.
It promises to be another thrilling campaign for the Blues as we enter a new era under the guidance of Enzo Maresca, who takes over from Pep Guardiola in the hotseat.
Make sure you secure your spot at the Etihad Stadium for our Premier League fixtures now!
