Arsenal will make the short journey down to Wembley as they aim to make it back-to-back Community Shield victories.
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The Gunners pulled off a convincing 3-0 victory over Manchester City last year, and will now set their sights on Premier League champions, Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho’s side are coming off the back of a steady pre-season period, and will be on high alert of Arsene Wenger’s intent to end a disastrous run of form.
The Frenchman has failed to trump any Blues side managed by the ‘Special One’ on every occasion the two have met, including last seasons brace of bore draws.
However, the Gunners have quite literally taken a page out of Chelsea’s book, by picking up the £11million signing of Petr Cech early on in this summers transfer window.
The 33-year-old linked up with his new side much to the regret of Mourinho, who was reluctant to let the all-time greatest Premier League goalkeeper join their North London rivals.
But it all comes down to what happens on the day, and Fresh Arsenal have compiled the team news from both squads ahead of the weekends Community Shield tie.
Team News
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger has confirmed at his pre-match conference that he will be missing a few key names this Sunday, with one of those players being a huge loss.
Alexis Sanchez is expected to return to full-scale training next week, following his recent success in the Copa America with Chile, who won the tournament for the first time in their history.
Arsenal’s 2014/15 top goalscorer is still spending some time on holiday, and will most likely feature two weeks into the Premier League campaign.
Also joining Alexis on the list of missing names is David Ospina, who is short of fitness levels after only starting training on 28th July.
The goalkeeper was also spending some time off following his impressive performance with Colombia as they reached the semi-finals of the South American tournament.
It’s looking good in the camp at the moment however, with the only player missing through injury being Danny Welbeck.
The striker turned winger is still nursing a bruised knee that he picked up towards the end of the season, and was forced to miss all of the Gunners pre-season activity.
Welbeck is expected to make a return to full training in the coming weeks, but Arsenal currently have the squad depth to survive.
Chelsea
Things are looking a little easier for Jose Mourinho, who confirmed in midweek that he will have a full squad to pick from on Sunday morning.
The Chelsea boss dismissed any speculation that Diego Costa and Gary Cahill would be missing out, following rumours that the pair were suffering minor injuries.
That means we can expect a full strength Chelsea side, which is exactly what we need following an unrealistic set of fixtures in pre-season.
Chelsea will want this trophy just as much as any Arsenal fan, and the fact that there is a North London rivalry on the cards just adds another splash of excitement.
Likely Line-Ups
Arsenal XI: Cech, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Oxlad-Chamberlain, Walcott
There really is no better way to make your competitive debut than against your former club, and Petr Cech will do exactly that following his summer arrival.
Debuchy is the standout name in defence, who could come in as a better all-round player to cover the strengths of Eden Hazard.
Oxlade-Chamberlain will complete a new look midfield with the absence of Alexis Sanchez. Ramsey and Cazorla will rotate between the central roles.
It’s an attacking side yet again for Arsene Wenger, who will give Theo Walcott the nod following his impressive run of form in front of goal.
Chelsea XI:Â Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa
Despite the summer arrival of Asmir Begovic, there will be a spot saved for Thibaut Courtois as he cements himself as Chelsea’s number one man between the sticks.
Cahill returns to action following an injury scare, and Azpilicueta will be sure to start after Mourinho stated he has “the best left-back in the league”.
Nemanja Matic will be the player looking to put a stop to Mesut Ozil’s fantastic run of form, whilst their is also a starting place for former Gunner, Cesc Fabregas.
Diego Costa remains as Chelsea’s leading striker, and Mourinho has new signing, Radamel Falcao, on his books if things aren’t going the right way.
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