Community Shield tale of tape: Who has the edge: Leicester or Man Utd?

Does the Community Shield matter? Ultimately, given its role as a glorified friendly match, the answer is an obvious "no." It's nice to win but not so painful to lose. More importantly, it might just offer a few pointers to the new season.

For example, Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Wembley last year saw Jose Mourinho adopt the sour persona he wore throughout the then-champions' pitiful defence of their title until his sacking in December.

Twelve months on, he is back, this time as Manchester United manager, with a new club whose FA Cup win booked them a spot at Wembley. He'll face an old adversary in Claudio Ranieri, the manager he and just about the rest of the football business had written off, yet who presided over Leicester City's winning of the Premier League, perhaps the greatest English football story ever told.

How might the two teams measure on Sunday?

Goalkeeper

At 29, Kasper Schmeichel came of age and out of father (and United legend) Peter's shadow last season. Capable of great saves and a fierce organiser of his defence, a leader, he was behind perhaps only his opposite man in terms of performance throughout the campaign.

David De Gea, meanwhile, finds himself with something to prove. After finally unseating Iker Casillas as Spain's first-choice goalkeeper at Euro 2016, De Gea made two costly errors that contributed to the losses to Croatia and Italy that bounced the defending champions. In Wayne Rooney's testimonial against Everton, a 0-0 draw, he mercifully looked something like his usual self.

Edge: Manchester United

Defence

Leicester's strength last season lay in defenders defending, with little frippery beyond that. It is an approach of which Mourinho no doubt approves, and it contains one of his former Chelsea charges in Robert Huth. None of Huth, captain Wes Morgan, Danny Simpson orChristian Fuchs is a recognised star, but they are a fine unit. They might have suffered in midweek in a 4-2 loss to Barcelona in Sweden, but they might fancy their chances against the lack of pace that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rooney exhibit these days.

The word is that Mourinho is not too happy with his defensive options and wants a commanding centre-back to lead the back line. New signingEric Bailly is perhaps more of a ball player, and at 22, he's still very raw.Chris Smalling, last season's defensive leader, has not featured in preseason, and Daley Blind, favoured by Louis van Gaal as a central defender, appears to have no future in that position. There are better tidings for United in the return of Luke Shaw at left-back, but the question remains over whether Mourinho might seek to curb his natural attacking instincts.

Edge: Leicester City

Midfield

In N'Golo Kante, Leicester had the Premier League's best midfielder last season, but now the all-action human turbine is a Chelsea player. What happens next? In France, it has been suggested that the closest player possible to Kante is Nampalys Mendy, signed from Nice even before Kante fled the Foxes' den. Whether he can strike up as good a partnership with Danny Drinkwater as Kante remains to be seen. There is always reliable substitute Andy King to come in and help out.

While Leicester mourn the loss of their great midfielder, Manchester United await theirs, as the Paul Pogba saga continues. What was clear from last season under Van Gaal was that United lacked zest and power in central areas, such that Wayne Rooney was called back to play there.Michael Carrick remains a reliable, deep-lying playmaker but he is now 35, while Bastian Schweinsteiger has been banished to the reserves. The likes of Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini have uncertain futures and might need to impress at Wembley if given the chance. After all, Mourinho prefers to operate a small squad.

Edge: Even

Attack

Unlike Kante, Jamie Vardy decided to stay at King Power Stadium, and so far, Riyad Mahrez remains a Leicester player, despite a summer of speculation. That means the quicksilver, fast-breaking forward line of last season remains intact, though both those stars perhaps have to prove that last season was no one-off. During that Barca defeat, a bright spot came in the performance of Ahmed Musa. The Nigerian, signed last month from CSKA Moscow for a club-record £16 million, in scoring twice looked like he might rival Vardy for pace. There is always Shinji Okazaki, the Japanese striker serving as a tireless first line of defence.

Mourinho's inaugural news conference saw him confirm that the Rooney-as-playmaker experiment was over. The long-time striker has talked of his enthusiasm for a return to his days as a goal scorer, but he now has serious competition on that front, and he faces a battle to be the biggest name in town. Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced himself with a typical overhead kick in a 5-2 defeat of Galatasaray in Gothenburg last week and will lead the line, though he likes to roam where the mood takes him. It appears that Anthony Martial, now wearing the No. 11 shirt, is now viewed as a winger, though there might be concern that Marcus Rashford, last season's jewel, won't get enough game time. Expect him to be a "supersub."

Edge: Leicester City

Manager

Ranieri could have retired last summer, with his career fulfilled as the "nearly man" who at last achieved a league title. But that persona overlooks the fact that under the jolly personality and "dilly ding, dilly dong" catchphrase, he is a man who has had the staying power to last three decades in management. Will he change his winning formula? Does he have the resourcefulness to make alterations that can bring future success? Wembley might provide some hints.

It has to be said that for someone who believes managing United is a lifetime's ambition achieved, Mourinho has not looked happy thus far. He snarled through the haphazard Chinese tour in which the friendly with Manchester City was canceled, and we have yet to see him adopt the wisecracking banter which has won over many a press man. Perhaps the game face is already on, or maybe there is self-doubt after that Chelsea tailspin, but victory at Wembley might at last elicit his smile. The sense, though, is that his mind is firmly on Bournemouth, United's Premier League opener on Aug. 14.

Edge: Leicester City

Intangibles

Leicester's preseason, in which the team lost 4-0 to PSG, suffered that Barca defeat and drew with Celtic in Glasgow, has given the lie to the rather sour-faced school of thought that last season was a flash in the pan. That, though, comes with the evergreen warning that preseason usually ends up telling little of what might lay ahead. In any case, there is little disgrace in losing to PSG and Barcelona.

Meanwhile, United's preseason has been even more troubled, with a 4-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in China particularly worrying. Yet like Ranieri, Mourinho has been trying combinations and slowly welcoming players from Euro 2016 and the Copa America back. He described the China tour as a "week of no work" and preseason as "strange." Might Wembley be when Mourinho's United click into gear? Mourinho probably feels he owes Ranieri one -- it was a 2-1 defeat at Leicester in December that hastened his end at Chelsea.