Previewing the Manchester Derby in the FA Community Shield

Next Sunday, 7 August 2011, bitter rivals Manchester United and Manchester City face-off in the English FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The last time these sides met was on 16 April 2011 in the semifinal of the FA Cup. On that day, City knocked United out of the competition with a 1-0 win courtesy of a Yaya Toure goal in the 52nd minute.

United’s “noisy neighbours” went on to defeat Stoke City 1-0  in the final en route to their first major trophy since they won the League Cup in 1976. After City’s historic triumph, Manchester United were forced to take down the Stretford End’s infamous banner at Old Trafford which showed the number of years Manchester City had gone without winning a trophy.

Saying that the August 7th matchup between these two fierce rivals is a rematch of last year’s FA Cup semifinal would be a huge understatement. Sir Alex Ferguson and United’s cavalry are keen on re-establishing the Red Devils dominance over their hostile neighbours.

Players to Watch

David de Gea is ready to take over Manchester United’s goalkeeping duties following the retirement of legendary Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar. De Gea is United’s player to watch because he will have his hands full trying to keep a cleansheet versus City. The Blues improved an already star-studded attack with the addition of Argentine international Sergio “Kun” Agüero. Agüero will also be making his team debut after completing a €45 million from Atlético Madrid. Coincidentally, de Gea and Agüero were teammates at Atlético Madrid from 2009–2011.

Head to Head Battle to Watch

Wayne Rooney vs. Vincent Kompany

On 12 February 2011, Wayne Rooney’s ‘goal of the season’ spoiled Manchester City’s solid performance in front of 75,322 at Old Trafford. Despite Rooney’s tremendous overhead kick, his 2010-11 was his least productive season at United. After a dismal start to the season, Rooney managed to find some form and end his 2010-11 campaign with 16 goals in 40 games for the Premier League champions.

“You couldn’t get better motivation to start the season with a bang. I hadn’t even thought about it until I turned on the TV and someone was talking about potentially the best Community Shield ever. Playing City is the best way to start.” – Wayne Rooney

During United’s clash with rivals City on 12 February 2011, Vincent Kompany was absolutely brilliant. The strong Belgian centre-back set the standard for Manchester City’s stingy defense last season and was shockingly not nominated for the PFA Players’ Player Of The Year award. Kompany was by far City’s most consisent player throughout 2010-11. Without Kompany, City would have not secured a place in the UEFA Champions League in 2011-12. If Manchester City are going to beat United at Wembley this Sunday, Kompany must be brilliant yet again.