With the English premier league season kicking off today in the Community Shield, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is still getting acquainted with his squad and Manchester United counterpart Alex Ferguson is trying to decide who to field in the absence of key players.
Ferguson said he was approaching this year's match between the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners at Wembley differently than in the past because both clubs have already been on preseason tours.
"We used to treat the match as a barometer for the players' fitness when certain players needed that extra game," Ferguson said Friday. "We are not looking at it that way now because the players' fitness is pretty good and they have had the appropriate minutes on the clock."
But for Ferguson and the three-time defending champions, there is always something at stake when playing the Blues.
"Whenever we play against Chelsea, pride comes into it," the Scot said.
Calf injury
United lost both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez in the off season, and will also be without centre back Nemanja Vidic because of a calf injury that will rule him out of the league opener against Birmingham next week. Wes Brown will miss the Wembley match with a thigh problem but is expected to return by the following Sunday's match.
A third straight Community Shield triumph for United today would provide a confidence-booster before the bid for an unprecedented fourth straight English title begins. Ferguson also wants to forget May's Champions League final loss to Barcelona.
Both United and Chelsea, which hired Ancelotti from AC Milan in June, have so far adopted a cautious approach in the transfer window, not trying to match the big-spending at Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Recruited midfielder
United, which picked up wingers Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan, has only spent about a quarter of the £80 million ($135 million) Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo. Chelsea has recruited midfielder Yuri Zhirkov for £18 million.
"They have only bought a few players because Mr Ferguson is happy with what he's got. They have a great squad, but they still have money to get whoever they want," Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Cech said. "It will be exciting to see for everyone whether they will miss Ronaldo more than Ronaldo will miss them."
Despite his club's lack of spending after finishing third in the league last season, Cech is confident that the existing strike partnership of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka will prosper.
"We have a front two that will worry everyone in the Premier League and in Europe," Cech said. "It is a perfect combination. You can see that they play and cooperate well together."