Here we compare their two managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, ahead of the eagerly anticipated FA Community Shield showdown.

TRANSFERS

Few managers will be as happy as Ferguson with their summer dealings. Nani and Anderson look long-term replacements for Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and England international Owen Hargreaves will add steel to the midfield. As for Carlos Tevez, the Argentinian's arrival would represent the greatest coup of all for Ferguson should a deal be completed. The Scot's toughest task will be keeping his entire squad happy.

While Mourinho may not have spent the sums Chelsea supporters have recently become accustomed to, he has still made some useful acquisitions. Steve Sidwell will help fill the void left by Michael Essien and Mikel John Obi's African Nations Cup absence and Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro are bargain arrivals. Their priciest purchase, Florent Malouda, will suit Mourinho's planned 4-3-3 formation.

MAN MANAGEMENT

Although his relationship with Roman Abramovich has often been far from smooth, few coaches enjoy popularity among their players like Mourinho. The Portuguese can count on the support of key dressing room figures John Terry and Frank Lampard and has proven capable of squeezing the best from his players on the big occasion.

Nobody knows how to manage players better than the Scot - and they know it. The likes of Giggs and David Beckham were carefully nurtured by Ferguson, who has an impeccable history of developing young talent. Historically, Ferguson has been famed for his no-nonsense approach - one which abruptly ended the stays of Dutch pair Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelrooy - he commands the utmost respect from his team.

TACTICS

The free-flowing football favoured by Ferguson has earned both plaudits and prizes during a tenure at United spanning over two decades. The Red Devils' attacking ammunition proved too hot to handle for most of their Premier League opponents last season and with a wealth of new offensive options at his disposal they could prove an even more formidable proposition. However, he may opt to abandon the more defensive 4-5-1 formation which proved less effective in Europe.

It is, perhaps more than coincidental that Mourinho has hinted at a return to 4-3-3 having seen Ferguson use it to such devastating effect last season. The narrow midfield which often tried to accommodate at least three of Lampard, Michael Ballack, Claude Makelele, Mikel John Obi and Michael Essien often stifled the Blues' creativity. It is not as if the Portuguese does not have a remedy: for Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo read Joe Cole and Malouda or Shaun Wright-Phillips and Arjen Robben - should he stay.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

The two sides have met on nine occasions since Mourinho arrived in England in the summer of 2004 and it is he who holds the upper hand. Didier Drogba's goal handed the Blues the FA Cup in their most recent meeting, Chelsea's fifth victory over United.

Ferguson, on the other hand, has masterminded just one win over the west Londoners - a Darren Fletcher goal earning a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in November 2005. The remaining three games have been drawn, with nothing to choose between the two sides in both of their Premier League encounters last season.