Wembley Showdown: United vs City

The new Barclays Premier League season is almost upon us, and what better way to kick it off than with Manchester United and Manchester City locking horns at Wembley.

The Community Shield, the annual curtain raiser to the Premier League campaign, is normally an intriguing encounter by itself.

What better way to whet fans' appetites - ahead of ten months of enthralling football action - than to pit the reigning English top-flight champions against the winners of the FA Cup, arguably the most prestigious cup competition on the planet.

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Community Shield: Here we go again

Man United vs Man City: Key Battles

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And yet somehow, ahead of a season which many have tipped to be the most exciting in a long while, the 2011 Community Shield quite fittingly is not just a fixture between two very good sides, but a Manchester derby, pitting together two age-old rivals.
Throw out all notions that the match is merely a pre-season friendly - a last-minute chance for managers to hand their players priceless game time. Sunday's encounter will be an all-out battle royale.
It almost seems as though the storyline could not have been scripted any better.
In the red corner, you have the perennial guardians of the Premier League, fresh off the back of a record 19th English league title. A team who have established themselves as the number one team in the land over the last 20 years under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Then in the blue corner, you have the young upstarts - the "noisy neighbours" as they have been called. For too long, City have had to play second fiddle to United. Yet there is a growing sense of anticipation amongst the Citizens that their time is now.
Last season's FA Cup triumph, where they eliminated United in the semi-finals, did more than just end a 35-year trophy drought. It announced to the rest of the Premier League that City could soon be the new number one team in Manchester.
Granted, the Community Shield is not the first piece of silverware on most teams' agendas. But you can be certain that Sunday's match will be one clash both United and City will not want to lose.

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