Sunday 2 August 2015 15:35, UK
Chelsea and Arsenal will compete for the first silverware of the season when they meet in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
The match will be the 14th meeting between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. None of the previous matches have been won by the Arsenal manager.
However, last season’s FA Cup winners will be buoyed by their impressive pre-season form and their capture of goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea.
The 33-year-old won the Community Shield twice with the Blues but is set to line up for the Gunners on Sunday after making the switch from Stamford Bridge this summer.
Cech will be the only new addition to the Gunners' starting XI at Wembley, while Chelsea will also not look too different from the side that won the Premier League so convincingly last season.
Radamel Falcao and Asmir Begovic have been the Blues' biggest signings after a dominant domestic campaign in which they lost only three matches.
Chelsea and Arsenal have only met once before in the Community Shield, when Didier Drogba scored twice to give the Blues a 2-1 win in 2005.
Team news
Gary Cahill and Diego Costa are both available after suffering injuries in Chelsea’s final pre-season tour match against Barcelona.
Centre-back Cahill left the pitch with a suspected broken nose while Costa went off with a worry over his hamstring.
Can Arsenal make a statement of intent against Chelsea in the Community Shield?
However, both have been declared fit and Costa will compete with Falcao and Loic Remy for the starting spot.
Former Chelsea keeper Cech is likely to start for Arsenal but Alexis Sanchez will not feature following an extended post-Copa America break.
Merson’s prediction
I would say this game means more to Arsenal than it does to Chelsea and I think that when it is like that, the team it matters most to usually win.
Chelsea will have been in America playing big games and I just think that Arsenal will be up for it more, as they were against City last year. And when that happens, that team usually wins, so I am just going to go for an Arsenal victory.
However, I would be shocked if Arsenal finish above Chelsea come the end of the season.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-0 to Arsenal (Sky Bet odds - 8/1)
Opta stats
The FA Cup winners have only won one of the last five Community Shield matches, though this was Arsenal in last year’s game.
The Gunners have gone 482 minutes without a goal against Chelsea.
Arsenal have won their last four games at the new Wembley, after failing to win any of the first three (D1 L2). They did beat Wigan on penalties in that drawn result, however.
Neither side has failed to score in games at the new Wembley Stadium (Arsenal – 7 games, Chelsea – 13 games).
The Blues have won eight of their 13 games at the new Wembley (D2 L3). They’ve won once and lost once on penalties following those two draws.
The last two red cards shown in the Community Shield match have been to Chelsea and Arsenal – Branislav Ivanovic for the Blues in 2012 and Francis Jeffers for Arsenal in 2003.
Betting
Sky Bet see the Community Shield as a far closer contest that the Premier League title race, with Chelsea only marginal favourites at 7/5.
The Blues also head the Premier League outright betting at 13/8 while Arsenal’s odds on Sunday (9/5) are less than half of their title price (4/1), with Manchester City (5/2) and Manchester United (5/1) considered the other main contenders.
Diego Costa heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 followed by Radamel Falcao, Olivier Giroud (both 11/2), Eden Hazard (6/1) and Theo Walcott (7/1).
