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The 2009 FA Community Shield takes place on Sunday 9^th August at Wembley Stadium. Current holders and Premier League champions Manchester United take on FA Cup winners Chelsea in a repeat of the 2007 match which United won 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time. You can see all the live Community Shield action right here with Live Sport Network. Don’t miss a minute of the action when the Red Devils take on the Blues - watch Manchester United vs Chelsea in live Community Shield action online.

Manchester United approach the season’s traditional curtain raiser, the FA Community Shield, on the back of fortnight’s worth of high profile friendly matches. Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup followed by Valencia at Old Trafford will have been just the tests Sir Alex Ferguson sought as he plans his Cristiano Ronaldo-free assault on the 2009/10 season. With Carlos Tevez also having swapped the red side of Manchester for the blue, the Scot will no doubt utilise the early opportunity to measure his squads ability to cope without the two big guns by putting in a good performance against Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

New additions Gabriel Obertan and Antonio Valencia may well have roles to play in the match which kick starts the new English campaign. The 20 year-old French winger recently arrived from Bordeaux carries heavy expectations but with Ferguson’s history of nurturing and bringing through young talent, first impressions may not necessarily allow a full insight into Obertans’ potential. Ecuadorian international Valencia’s capture from Wigan adds additional Premiership experience up front and with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov both needing to step up to the plate following the twin loss of Ronaldo and Tevez, a good start to his United career can only reassure Red’s fans that there is life after Cristiano.

Chelsea should have recovered from jet lag following their exploits in the States. Victories over both Milan sides and a 100% record mean that Carlo Ancelotti’s stock will have already risen by the time they face their arch rivals at Wembley. The three new arrivals at Stamford Bridge must all fancy their chances of at least some involvement in the fixture with new keeper Ross Turnbull having made his debut against Inter and Daniel Sturridge (Seattle Sounders) and Yuri Zhukov (AC Milan) both having opened their accounts pre-season.

The pressure on Ancelotti should not start in earnest until the opening day of the Premier League season but a victory against the team that thwarted them in the Champions League final two years ago would bring a smile to the face of owner Roman Abramovich whilst raising expectations that both the Premier League crown and the elusive European title may be within their reach this time around.

Manchester United face Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday August 9^th 2009. You can watch the Community Shield live online using our dedicated members area. Sign up today to avoid missing out on the action!.