Chelsea v Manchester United Community Shield Preview

Chelsea v Manchester United

Sunday 8th August 2010,

Wembley Stadium

Kick-Off: 15:00

Chelsea

Reigning English Premier League and FA Cup Champions Chelsea will look to start the 2010/11 season off in the right way when they face Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.

This Chelsea vs Manchester United clash will be the perfect way for one side to take an early psychological advantage, as the two rivals prepare for a season that could be faced with a multitude of challengers beyond the traditional Big Four scenario.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti will have likely hoped that his team fared better in their preseason endeavours. A win against Crystal Palace in mid-July was followed by a hat-trick of losses against the likes of Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Hamburg, not to mention a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Wycombe.

The latter, however, saw the Blues field a majority of their youth squad, and with the only real first-team player coming in the form of Franco di Santo, Chelsea can perhaps be excused for that particular miserable result.

Still, a win over Man U on Sunday would serve as a huge confidence boost ahead of the start of season the following weekend.

Chelsea will be without Petr Cech due a calf injury, with Ross Turnbull the likely replacement. Didier Drogba, however, is likely to start for the Blues against Man United, with a generally fully-fit squad for Ancelotti to choose from for the rest of his side.

Manchester United

Premier League runners-up Man Utd will be looking for some kind of revenge in this opener to the season, after Chelsea ended the Red Devils' three-season run as champions by snatching the title from them.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men have fared considerably better in their preseason warm-ups, with a huge 7-1 victory over League of Ireland XI as their most recent result.

Goals by a list of players excluding Wayne Rooney will likely give hope to Ferguson that adequate support can be given this season to the out-of-form England striker, with Dimitar Berbatov, new signing Javier Hernandez, and even Michael Owen getting on the score sheet in recent times.

Man Utd will be without midfielder Michael Carrick for a couple of weeks due to an ankle injury, whilst Gabriel Obertan, Rio Ferdinand, Anderson, and Owen Hargreaves are all likely to miss out.

Prediction

Manchester United have started as the more positive of the two sides in their preseason form. However, these friendly performances can often have little to no indication as to what lies ahead for the squad in question.

This traditional opener to the season promises to provide some entertaining football, and will give a chance for both sides to flex their football muscles before the Premier League season gets underway on the 14th August.

Chelsea v Manchester United Prediction: Chelsea 1, Man Utd 2



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