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FA Community Shield Free Bet Offers for Arsenal v Man City on August 16th

August 15, 2026
by Emma Harrison
It’s the curtain-raiser for another season of top-flight English football and for some, the ideal time to test out free bet offers from the biggest sportsbooks around. Or put another way, it’s time for the 2026 Community Shield.

Once again, Manchester City are involved in the opening game of the FA’s top-tier calendar, but this time they’re not in the slot reserved for England’s champions: After their FA Cup Final win over Chelsea, they come into this game as the cup winners to Arsenal’s Champions; and that’s not all that’s different for the Cityzens this season.

The Maresca era gets underway

After a ten-year stint in the Manchester City dugout, Pep Guardiola has hung up his tactics board for the time being and made way for former protege Enzo Maresca. The Italian has some big shoes to fill, and this runout in the Welsh capital will give the first big clues as to how he will go about doing so. In terms of squad changes, it seems like evolution rather than revolution: possession-happy midfielder Elliot Anderson is the main new arrival at the Etihad.

For the champions, it is a similar story. While they are believed to have “tested the market” in sounding out Vinicius Junior over a potential move, boss Mikel Arteta hasn’t done too much to fix what evidently isn’t broken. Bruno Guimaraes has arrived from Newcastle to partner Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in a strong midfield while Greek international forward Christos Tzolis appears to be a rotation option; UK betting sites seem to favour Viktor Gyokeres as the Gunners’ no. 9.

Community Shield OddsArsenalDrawManchester City
Betfred13/85/28/5
bet36529/2013/531/20
BetMGM8/55/28/5

Best free bets for the Community Shield

With a new season about to get underway, it’s as good a time as any to check out a new sportsbook option, and the names below offer some of the best UK betting promotions to their new customers.

Free BetsBetting Bonuses

Betfred: Bet £10 Get £50 free bets

Betfred: Pros and Cons
  • Virtually every type of gambling feature available from sports to bingo.
  • Superb sports betting setup with outright and in-play markets.
  • Simple but easy-to-use website design.
  • Highly rated mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
  • The sportsbook layout can be a little confusing.
  • No esports betting coverage.
Visit Betfred

One of the UK’s longest-standing bookmakers, Betfred can always be relied upon to cover the English football calendar extensively – and naturally, the Community Shield is among the markets it features. And new customers can make the most of this with £50 worth of Betfred free bets when they sign up, deposit, and bet £10 on a qualifying market at odds of Evens or longer. Those bets are divided into three straight singles of £10 at a time, plus three bet builders of three parts or more. The bets do expire after seven days, so if you’re placing your qualifying bet on the game, make sure you’ve used the free ones by next Saturday.

New UK Betting SitesOnline Casinos Where You Can Bet on Sports

bet365: Bet £10 Get £30

bet365: Pros and Cons
  • Multiple sections including sports betting, casino games, bingo, and esports
  • One of the best mobile apps available for Android and iOS
  • Awesome bet builder and player builder betting options for the sportsbook
  • Easy-to-use website with simple primary navigation
  • PayPal minimum deposit limit could be lower at £25
Visit Bet365

bet365 is one of the biggest names in the sports betting world, and a look at their site with everything it has to offer will show you precisely why that’s the case. There’s an expansive range of sports markets to bet on, and the opening offer means you need only sign up and place a qualifying bet of £10 to receive three free £10 bets. Better yet, the qualifying bet needs only be on odds of ⅕ or longer (that’s 1.20 in decimal odds), which covers a very large range. As long as you use the bet365 free bets within seven days of crediting, you’re free to use them on more or less whatever you want from the sportsbook.

BetMGM: Bet £10 Get £40

BetMGM: Pros and Cons
  • One of the best mobile apps available for UK sites
  • Wide variety of payment methods
  • Instant deposit and withdrawal processing times
  • Huge array of casino games including live dealers
  • Not a big variety of promos for existing customers
Visit BetMGM UK

While BetMGM is primarily seen as an American sportsbook, it has been running a successful UK arm since 2023, and it will be a reliable source of decent betting odds on the Premier League this season. It also has one of the most attractive opening offers, delivering £40 in free bets for a £10 qualifying wager at odds of Evens or longer. Those BetMGM free bets come as two singles of £10, and two accas to the same value. These must be used within a week of crediting, but do you know what starts within a week of the Community Shield? That’s right, the Premier League.

Make your Community Shield bets today

Getting ready for the showpiece event to start the English football season? Then why not sign up with a new bookmaker to make your bets for this event? You can get across to any of these sites by clicking our links and banners, and then make your qualifying bet to tap into those offers. What better time than now?