Fabien Barthez
This was Chelsea's 4th appearance in the Shield and Manchester United's 20th. It was the second time they had met in the competition. Chelsea were without Albert Ferrer, who had sustained a chest injury in pre-season, while Graeme Le Saux made his first appearance in 10 months after recovering from an ankle injury. Three of Chelsea's new signings made their debuts for the team, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Eiður Guðjohnsen and Mario Stanić named in the squad, while goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was Manchester United's only debutant.