5 key Battles to be watched in the Community Shield

This Sunday, English Football begins as Manchester City take on Chelsea at Villa Park in what proves to be a fiery contest. Both the teams are star-studded with a number of world-class players. A win will ensure that the team has an upper hand against the opponent emotionally. There are to be 5 key battles, where players will try to get the better of their counterparts.

Sergio Aguero vs John Terry

Sergio Aguero is a celebrity in the streets of Manchester with his dramatic late winning goal, which won Manchester City their first title in 44 years. John Terry, on the other hand, holds cult status among the Chelsea faithful and has been their hero many a time.

What more could you ask for? A world class striker against a world class defender. Aguero will be a constant threat at Petr Cech’s goal and it will be all about Terry ‘s concentration level, as he tries to keep him out. With Ballotelli missing out, Chelsea should have no threat aerially but would have to keep their composure to ensure luck favours them. Pace happens to be John Terry’s only weakness.

As much as I’m a Chelsea fan, I think Sergio would be able to take Terry on and the English defender will have to be at his best to avoid any blushes.

Yaya Toure vs Ramires

Toure and Ramires are the engines of their teams. A team would virtually die out if they did not exist. Efficient as they come, a very heated battle will be going on in the midfield throughout the game. One who overcomes the other, would do his team a huge favour as it could be a match deciding moment.

Ramires with his speed can be a huge threat whereas Toure can cause problems in the box with his physical presence. With the end of last season, arguably they were both the best players for their season. Fitness could come in question as they both had very tiring campaigns. Being in good form will be a key factor in deciding the match.

Tough to decide who will be better but whether Ramires starts is another question.

Joleon Lescott vs Fernando Torres

Quite a peculiar battle to many eyes, with both the players having mixed seasons. Lescott did not have the best of seasons with his errors proving costly for City but not being a killer blow. Torres, on the other hand, had a torrid start but a perfect fairy tale ending.

Vincent Kompany is most likely to miss out on the match with a calf problem and was definitely the best defender in the Premier League last season. Joleon Lescott would do well against Torres if the Spanish golden boot winner failed to build on his recent success. Like it or not, the man is different in a blue shirt. But if Torres is at his best and gives in a good performance then expect Lescott to be ripped into shreds.

If the City defender can improve his recent form, then expect it to be a tight battle, but if El Nino rises again then we all know what happens.

Pablo Zabaleta / Nigel De Jong vs Eden Hazard / Juan Mata

The main decider, who can stop whom from wreaking havoc.

Zabaleta’s fine performance has made him a first choice right-back and Nigel De Jong’s presence at the center can make a few heads turn. Eden Hazard is yet to prove himself and a good performance here could be a laying foundation for his career. Juan Mata was instrumental in making sure that Chelsea won the FA Cup and sealed atleast a 6th position in the league, but it will be doubt on whether he features as he returns from a disappointing campaign with Spain at the Olympics.

It depends on whether Eden and Juan can provide a killer pass and whether Pablo and Nigel can stop them.

Preview on the match
Summary of press conference before the game