Andy Gray assesses the respective midfields of Chelsea and Man Utd ahead of the Community Shield.
'Title rivals won't shield strengths - or flaws - from each other'
Let's get one thing straight from the start.
History may show that four of the last five Community Shield winners have gone on to win the Premier League title but that's not where the significance of Sunday's clash between Chelsea and Manchester United rests for me.
That statistic is just that - a stat - and not one I give much credence to, frankly.
Rather, Sunday's match gives us all a chance to assess what stage each team is at in its preparations for the new Premier League season.
Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson will use it as a gauge to find out how close their players are to being ready and how much work they still need to do.
For the majority of both squads the emphasis will be on sharpness and alertness; for a few the focus will be on endurance work.
Everyone will want to win, of course, but the losing manager will say with some justification that 'this has no bearing on the league; it was a good work out and we'll move on from there'.
Tricky
No doubt Carlo is looking forward to trying to top the double he achieved with Chelsea last season.
The challenge of retaining a title is one most coaches thrive on - it's one of the biggest tests there is - and Carlo is no different.
Chelsea have won back-to-back Premier League titles once under Jose Mourinho and Carlo will do everything he can to eclipse that feat in the next couple of seasons - as well as add the Champions League trophy to the Stamford Bridge cabinet.
It will take an awful lot of hard work but he has a strong, experienced team to work with and, for the most part, he hasn't lost anyone from the squad since the end of last season that he would have wanted to retain.
I see Yossi Benayoun coming in for Joe Cole as a like-for-like transfer in the sense that they are both very tricky and skilful players who rely on quick feet rather than blinding pace to get into good positions.
Both are more concerned with creating than scoring but are also capable of netting the odd goal or two. Carlo has said that maybe Joe is a bit more of an individual whereas Yossi is more of a team player and I'd go along with that.
Michael Ballack and Deco may have moved on but if the deal for Ramires does go through, I think Chelsea will start this season with a much stronger midfield than they finished the last.
Ramires looks like a natural replacement for Ballack plus Chelsea also have a fit-again Michael Essien back in the fold, so Carlo has plenty of options.
It's also a huge plus for the Italian that Ashley Cole - a player he describes as the best left-back in the world - is still on board.
Carlo's an astute man and he realises that the £25-30m he would get for Cole's services will only buy him an inferior player.
Given the importance of the left and right backs to the way Chelsea play, losing Ashley Cole would have been far more serious to Chelsea's hopes than Joe Cole's departure is.
Stabilising
Both sides will want to start this weekend's match with a strong side that is as close to the XI that will take the field for their respective Premier League openers, which means Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard should both play a part for their respective teams.
We'll find out on Sunday how close Didier Drogba and Petr Cech are to full fitness and get an insight into what shape United's Nemanja Vidic is in too.
With Rio Ferdinand still struggling to recover from the knee ligament problem that forced him to miss the World Cup, United need the Serbian's strong stabilising presence in the backline more than ever and his experience and composure back there will be crucial to United's chances of success.
I also expect this to be a season where Fergie gives youth more of a chance. It reminds me a little of the days when the Beckhams, the Butts and the Scholes' were bursting into the team. Sir Alex gave them their head and they rewarded him richly.
While the senior pros will get the nod for the majority of the games, I believe we could see several of the young kids in United's squad come of age - Rafael and Darren Gibson in particular.
I've picked out Gibson because the middle of United's midfield is still a cause for concern for me.
While Darren Fletcher had a good season last year, we don't know how much Anderson is going to feature this year nor indeed whether Michael Carrick - who is now out with an ankle injury - will fulfil his true potential at United. He certainly hasn't yet.
On the plus side, I'm far less concerned about Fergie's options up front now than I was last season. Rooney aside, I thought United's frontline was a little weak but Javier Hernandez is a fantastic acquisition and Michael Owen - if his fantastic midweek goal in Dublin is anything to go by - looks hungry and sharp.
With Rooney, Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda and Owen in his ranks I think Sir Alex is fully justified in thinking he doesn't need to splash out on Karim Benzema, as some papers have suggested he might.
Could this be the combination that earns United the record 19th league title Sir Alex dreams of? Let me know your thoughts...
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