Chelsea
vs
Man Utd
vs
Man Utd
Fri 6th Aug
Ancelotti and Ferguson: Wembley clash
Double winners Chelsea tackle Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, live on Sky Sports HD1 and 1, as both clubs finalise preparations for the new Premier League season.
The traditional curtain-raiser may be regarded by some as nothing more than a glorified friendly, but the first piece of silverware is on offer plus the opportunity to strike an early psychological blow.
For rival bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson, it is the last chance to watch their players in action before they depart for midweek international action, a quirk of the fixture calendar which has riled many in the top flight.
Ancelotti has already bemoaned the fact that he does not feel many of his Blues squad are showing the necessary levels of fitness following their World Cup exertions this summer and a subsequently truncated pre-season programme.
Victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in mid-July has been followed by a hat-trick of defeats as Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg have all found the usually solid Chelsea backline surprisingly generous.
United's tour of America featured three victories and two defeats from their five matches before the Red Devils demolished a League of Ireland XI 7-1 in their most recent outing.
Strikers
Ferguson will have been happy to see his strikers find their touch in front of goal in recent weeks with Dimitar Berbatov, summer signing Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen all on the scoresheet at various times.
The trio will be required to take some of the goalscoring burden off the shoulders of Wayne Rooney, who may have a point to prove this weekend following an utterly miserable World Cup with England and some questionable off-field antics on a recent night out in Manchester.
Owen has already stated his hope that the much-criticised Wembley turf does not force him back onto the sidelines, with the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle striker suffering a hamstring injury in the Carling Cup final which kept him out of the remainder of the season.
Ferguson, who has pledged to give Rooney and Owen at least 45 minutes, is certain to be without midfielder Michael Carrick, who will miss the start of the new season after sustaining an ankle injury in Wednesday night's friendly romp in Dublin.
England captain Rio Ferdinand continues his recovery from the knee injury which wrecked his World Cup dream, while midfielder Anderson, who escaped from a recent car crash relatively unscathed, is closing in on a return to training from his own knee problem.
Rafael and Fabio are rated doubtful for the match as they have been suffering from food poisoning, luckless midfielder Owen Hargreaves remains in America as he attempts to resurrect his career after tendinitis in his knees and Gabriel Obertan (ankle) is out.
Drogba
Chelsea will be without goalkeeper Petr Cech at Wembley this weekend as the Czech Republic international continues to be troubled by a calf injury, with Ross Turnbull expected to get the nod over Hilario as the last line of defence.
Didier Drogba, who has scored six goals in his last seven appearances at the home of English football, featured for the second 45 minutes of the Hamburg defeat following a groin problem and is likely to start against the Red Devils.
Ancelotti has hinted that, Drogba aside, the men who began their final pre-season friendly defeat against the Bundesliga side will be on duty this weekend, meaning Branislav Ivanovic will partner John Terry in defence with Paulo Ferreira at right-back.
The return to fitness of the outstanding Ghana international Michael Essien will provide a major boost to Ancelotti this season, and he can expect to combine with Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel in midfield, with summer signing Yossi Benayoun waiting in the wings.
Salomon Kalou could drop to the bench, with disgraced France internationals Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda providing support for Drogba from the flanks in Ancelotti's favoured 4-3-3 formation.
