Written by Minal Vachheta
For some the Charity Shield is nothing but a pre season friendly, but for others it is a taste for what is to come and whets the appetite leaving fans wanting more. Chelsea and Manchester United will be battling it out for the first piece of silverware up for grabs in the new season and looking for the psychological power it brings with it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti will be watching eagerly to see how their teams look on the pitch as well as sizing up the opposition. It will be the first competitive ‘friendly’ where winning is a matter of pride, both teams will want to win with a passion. Whoever wins the game will without a doubt start the season with a sense of power over the other. Ancelotti and Ferguson are big rivals as they both pose the biggest threat to each other, the closely fought battle towards the end of the season which resulted in Chelsea winning the league title by a mere point is proof enough of this.
Both teams have had their share of pre- season warm up games in preparation for the new campaign. United had their tour of America with three wins out of five games. They also ripped a League of Ireland XI to shreds with a 7-1 hammering. Chelsea on the other hand have not had such a successful run. Their last victory was over Crystal Palace back in mid July, they have since suffered four defeats in a row. This may prove as an advantage for the Red’s as they are coming in on a high when the Blue’s would be feeling blue in the truest sense.
The Red Devil’s are without key players for the clash on Sunday with Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra all sidelined. Ferguson will be looking at Rooney to forget about his woeful World Cup tournament and pick up where he finished the last season putting away goals. Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and new signing Javier Hernandez have all been on the scoresheet in recent games giving United four in form strikers. Sir Alex has promised to give Rooney and Owen at least 45 minutes in the game; Owen is hoping that the Wembley turf will not sideline him again with injury.
Carlo has already named his team for Sunday. He is without Petr Cech who is still being troubled by a calf injury. Didier Drogba will be on the bench after undergoing surgery for a groin injury which he had from the end of last season. Ancelotti will start the game with Hilario, Ivanovic, Terry, Ferreira, Cole, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, Kalou, Anelka, and Malouda.
Both managers have hinted that they would need to be extra careful with players who had a major role in the World Cup earlier in the summer, as these players have still not recovered a 100% and need to rest. However that said they would still play them for part of the game as they do need to play.
Regardless of what anyone thinks, the Charity Shield is an important game because it is in a way the start of the season. Gives both teams the opportunity to see what the other team has to offer and how they can counteract it during league games. You could call it the appetiser before the main course of the season.
Who will be hottest dish…. Chelsea or Man United?
