Does the Community Shield matter? Ultimately, given its role as a glorified friendly match, the answer is an obvious "no." It's nice to win but not so painful to lose. More importantly, it might just offer a few pointers to the new season.
For example, Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Wembley last year saw Jose Mourinho adopt the sour persona he wore throughout the then-champions' pitiful defence of their title until his sacking in December.
Twelve months on, he is back, this time as Manchester United manager, with a new club whose FA Cup win booked them a spot at Wembley. He'll face an old adversary in Claudio Ranieri, the manager he and just about the rest of the football business had written off, yet who presided over Leicester City's winning of the Premier League, perhaps the greatest English football story ever told.
How might the two teams measure on Sunday?
Goalkeeper
At 29, Kasper Schmeichel came of age and out of father (and United legend) Peter's shadow last season. Capable of great saves and a fierce organiser of his defence, a leader, he was behind perhaps only his opposite man in terms of performance throughout the campaign.
David De Gea, meanwhile, finds himself with something to prove. After finally unseating Iker Casillas as Spain's first-choice goalkeeper at Euro 2016, De Gea made two costly errors that contributed to the losses to Croatia and Italy that bounced the defending champions. In Wayne Rooney's testimonial against Everton, a 0-0 draw, he mercifully looked something like his usual self.
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