Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea take on Arsenal at Wembley in the Community Shield on Sunday. The season’s curtain raiser sees the reigning Premier League Champions lock horns with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side looking to mount a serious challenge for the title this term.
Chelsea have had a relatively quiet transfer window so far, the most notable of their signings being Columbian hitman Radamel Falcao. And after a solid pre-season ending with a penalty shootout victory over European Champions Barcelona, Jose Mourinho would be looking to start the campaign on a positive note with a victory on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the Chelsea team which could take the field at Wembley against their London rivals.
Goalkeeper – Thibaut Courtois
The Belgian is well and truly Chelsea’s No.1 after the departure of Petr Cech and should start in goal for the Premier League champions.
Defence – Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta.
Cesar Azpilicueta has done a commendable job at left back for Chelsea and Filipe Luis’ return to Atletico Madrid only goes to outline the Spaniard’s outstanding season in an unfamiliar position. Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry should both start at right back and centre back respectively while Gary Cahill should give Mourinho a headache or two with his suspected broken nose after scoring the equalizer against Barcelona.
Either way, he is expected to start, even if he requires a protective mask.
Midfield – Matic, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard.
Nemanja Matic’s presence in midfield complements Cesc Fabregas’ guile and attacking flair and the duo should continue from where they left off last season.
Willian didn’t trouble the scorers that often last season but his industrious play and creativity makes him Mourinho’s favorite and should keep Juan Cuadrado on the bench. Eden Hazard scored a magnificent goal against Barcelona in the week capping off one of this trademark runs with a low shot and looks in top form ahead of the new campaign.
The diminutive Oscar should take his place as the No. 10 where his vision and running ability is utilized to the fullest.
Striker – Diego Costa
Diego Costa came off around the hour mark against Barcelona with hamstring trouble but is expected to be fit enough to start on Sunday ahead of new signing Radamel Falcao.
