The last time Leicester City played at the grand Wembley Stadium in the League Cup final in 2000, they were still playing games at Filbert Street. Their current manager Claudio Ranieri had just been unveiled as the new manager of Chelsea, who were about to embark on an ambitious new project.

Although Ranieri spent four seasons at Stamford Bridge and improved Chelsea’s season-on-season points tally in all four years of his tenure, his second place finish was not deemed good enough by Chelsea's Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. He was replaced in 2004 by the young, upcoming Portuguese manger, Jose Mourinho, who had overcome the odds in winning the Champions League with FC Porto.

Fast forward twelve years and the tables have turned. Mourinho, after a superb title-winning campaign with Chelsea in the second year of his second Chelsea tenure in 2014-15, was sacked in December 2015 for a second time by Abramovich after a disastrous start to the title defence.

Leicester beat – or rather, shattered – pre-season odds of 5000-1 and redefined the bookies’ handbook to register the most unlikely of triumphs, winning the Premier League in only their second year back in the League. Pundits who predicted the "Foxes” (as Leicester are nicknamed) would finish last and be relegated were left with egg on their faces as Leicester and Ranieri wrote one of those feel-good stories that we’re so used to seeing on silver screens.

No love lost

The Community Shield, played between the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup, has always served as a gentle welcome to the new season. But this year, the myriad sub-plots make the match a fascinating introduction to a truly unpredictable Premier League coming up.

There is no love lost between the opposing managers, as Mourinho had criticised Ranieri for his inability to learn the English language while himself being forced to learn Italian when the pair were both managers in the Italian Serie A back in 2008. Jose, having coveted the United job for a long time, has finally landed it, some may even say earned it, but is sure to face an uphill task in his first official game in charge of the Red Devils.

Leicester begin life without Kante

Ranieri’s Leicester start life without N’Golo Kante, that relentless blue ball of energy who over-ran the Premier League’s best midfields on his own while covering every blade of grass on English football fields.

Kante’s departure to Chelsea must feel like waking up from a hallucination and finding that the drug that caused the trip is now gone. With Kante on the pitch, Leicester played like a committed hound, constantly harassing and snapping at the opposing team’s heels while moving forward in one swift, menacing motion. Leicester felt like they had 12 players with the Frenchman in the middle, but must now get used to life with 11 men on the pitch.

Ranieri has been spared further damage to the squad with Jamie Vardy rebuffing Arsenal’s advances and Riyad Mahrez refusing to swipe right even as Barcelona fluttered its eyelashes at the Algerian.

The pre-season jaunts did not turn out exactly as the Tinkerman (as Ranieri is known) would have hoped, with Leicester’s last two friendlies ending in a 4-0 walloping by Paris St Germain and a 4-2 reverse at the hands of Barcelona, the scoreline being given an air of respectability by new signing Ahmed Musa’s second half goals. Still, there are no injury concerns and the Italian should have a full squad at his disposal.

Ibra Kadabra

Mourinho's biggest problem will be kicking the lethargy and the cynicism in United’s play induced by the club's previous boss and his one-time mentor Louis Van Gaal. Along with Ibrahimovic, the Special One will be looking to re-ignite that winning mentality once associated with United.

United’s preparations have also been less than ideal as they played out a drab 0-0 draw in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match against Everton. Earlier in July, Borussia Dortmund under Thomas Tuchel had thrashed United 4-1 in China.

The spectre of Paul Pogba’s potential transfer also looms large over Old Trafford as the never-ending saga looks to drag on even as reports of a potential €100 million fee have led a few experts and former players to question whether the mercurial Frenchman is in fact, worth that sum of money.

Mourinho could benefit from the fact that United possess a number of players keen on proving a thing or two to the new boss. Antonio Valencia, Daley Blind and Ander Herrera will all want to put in a good shift, to perhaps show Jose that they could still add value to the squad and should not be shipped out.

Anthony Martial, after a stellar start to his United career, has stuttered, being left on the bench at the Euros by Didier Deschamps, and having his wonder-boy tag threatened by the rapid rise of Marcus Rashford. He will look to make amends, but must not buckle down under the shadow of the giant Swede Ibrahimovic.

Rooney, whose terminal decline was evident under Louis Van Gaal, has always been a Mourinho favourite and the subject of multiple transfer bids. But he will still need to carve a place for himself in this team. Luke Shaw, who suffered a horrendous fracture in September 2015 will need to get his confidence and fitness back after a potentially career-ending injury. He should make the left-back slot his own this season.

Chris Smalling, one of the two best players in United last season, along with goal-keeper David De Gea, is in doubt because of an ankle injury and will be sorely missed. New signing Eric Bailly will deputise.

As the Premier League enters its 25th season, this curtain-raiser of sorts should be a blockbuster. It’s a case of old stories being re-hashed, but with newer plot-lines and better twists.

Predicted Line-ups

Leicester City: Kasper Schmeichel; Danny Simpson, Robert Huth, Wes Morgan, Christian Fuchs; Danny Drinkwater, Nampalys Mendy; Marc Albrighton, Riyad Mahrez; Ahmed Musa, Jamie Vardy

Manchester United: David De Gea; Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw; Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial; Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Our prediction: United wins 2-1.