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Sports News of Saturday, 7 August 2021

Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

Community Shield: Iheanacho, Ndidi poised to break 50-year-old jinx

Iheanacho Iheanacho

The Wembley Stadium would literarily go up in flames today as two Premiership sides, Manchester City and Leicester lock horns for the Community Shield.

Leicester City would be banking on the prowess of Super Eagles’ duo of  Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi as they aim to break a fifty-year-old   Community Shield Jinx.

The cracker meant for English Premier League winners, Manchester City and FA Cup Champions, Leicester City, is held traditionally to usher in the EPL opener which kickoff August 14.

Bracing for the duel, the Foxes via Twitter hinted that all eyes will be on the Super Eagles’ duo and a host of other stars who were instrumental during their last campaign.

The tweet also disclosed that Iheanacho who finished as the club’s highest goal scorer during the last campaign alongside compatriot, Ndidi who was highly rated based on tackles, will be up to break a -fifty – year old Community Shield Jinx bedevilling the club since 1971.

“Community Shield match will take place exactly 50 years after Leicester City won this trophy for the only time in their history,” the 2016 English Champions tweeted yesterday.

The Nigerians helped Leicester secure their first-ever FA Cup trophy last season courtesy of a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the final on May 15, while Man City ultimately finished 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester United at the top of the 2020-21 Premier League table to reclaim the title from Liverpool.

The 2020-21 campaign will forever be remembered while gathering the profile of the duo who inspired  Brendan Rodgers men to the FA Cup for the first time, but the season ended in disappointment in terms of the Premier League, with a 4-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day seeing them drop out of the top four, meaning that they will play in the Europa League again this season, rather than the Champions League, which looked to be a strong possibility at the start.