Manchester United and Chelsea meet at Old Trafford on Sunday for the showpiece event of the Premier League's opening weekend.
Chelsea are beginning a new era under Frank Lampard, who will place extra emphasis on using youngsters due to the club's transfer ban, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side must bounce back from a miserable end to the 2018-19 season.
The two clubs met at the Theatre of Dreams back in April, playing out a low-quality 1-1 draw during which both sides were tangibly impeded by injury and fitness problems.
Solskjaer and Lampard will both expect their teams to be flying out of the traps this time around as they look to lay down a marker ahead of the following nine months.
There will once again be some of the best players the Premier League has to offer on display. With that in mind, Sports Mole has selected the best XI from both squads, using only players available for the clash.
David de Gea's horrific mistake somewhat defined the encounter between United and Chelsea back in April, with the Spaniard's fumbled save allowing for Marcos Alonso to score at a time when the visitors were offering no threat whatsoever. That said, you suspect that dip in form would have served as a source of motivation in the summer, and if the 28-year-old returns to his best on Sunday there are very few keepers capable of rivalling him.
The full-back areas on both sides can be considered strong points, with each team boasting good depth in that area. While Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who made 35 Premier League starts for Crystal Palace last season, has looked right at home for United in pre-season, you could argue that Cesar Azpilicueta is one of the Premier League's most consistent performers in that position. The Spaniard has become an indispensable leader on the pitch for Chelsea, while Wan-Bissaka still has much to prove.
Over on the left, Luke Shaw stands above the rest, with the 23-year-old currently in the form of his life having won the club's 'Player of the Season' award last year and enjoyed another very strong pre-season, impressing Solskjaer with his determination to press opponents and join attacks. He eclipses Alonso, whose capacity to perform in big games should not be forgotten, but the Spaniard must recover from what was a poor 2018-19 campaign.
Harry Maguire's arrival in Manchester earlier this week constituted a hugely important piece of business from United, who desperately need a central defender capable of leading from the back and staying fit. Beneath that, however, Solskjaer's options aren't brilliant, with Eric Bailly out until January and question marks looming over the rest.
For Chelsea, Antonio Rudiger's absence will be costly, and the club must recover from the shock of losing David Luiz to Arsenal, which gives a chance for Kurt Zouma to finally make his mark in a Chelsea shirt after enjoying an impressive loan spell with Everton last season.
Both sides, it could be argued, possess one midfielder belonging to the 'world class' category, and they happen to be France teammates and fellow World Cup winners. The battle between Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante is always a key one when these two sides meet, and each player has a different but equally crucial role to play on Sunday.
Kante is a slight fitness doubt, while Pogba missed United's final pre-season game against AC Milan due to a back problem, but you suspect both will make themselves available for such a big game.
For the third and final midfield slot, it is somewhat a 'battle of the rest'. The likes of Mateo Kovacic, Fred, Jorginho and Scott McTominay are all useful players, blessed with different skill-sets, but none have made a notable impact on the Premier League as of yet, and will need to play at a higher level for a longer period of time this season. In terms of sheer talent, the spot ought to go to Ross Barkley, who is yet to fully bloom for Chelsea but whose capacity to bend games to his will - as seen at Everton - should never be forgotten.
Over on the left, United supporters may be disappointed to see Anthony Martial fail to make the cut behind an ageing Pedro, who scored a freakishly incredible goal against Red Bull Salzburg last month, but the 23-year-old, for all his remarkable talent, has not delivered consistently for United since January. Pedro's experience in big games puts him just ahead of the Frenchman, which is why Marcus Rashford comes in ahead of Christian Pulisic or Mason Mount, who could make their Chelsea debuts on Sunday. United's number ten has scored against every member of the top six - including a winner over the Blues in April 2017.
For the striker's spot, there is quite literally no competition for Olivier Giroud - an accomplished finisher - after United sold Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan on deadline day and failed to replace him. Sunday's clash should be an indication of whether United are short in that area ahead of a long nine months.
Leo Nieboer
