A mouth-watering battle between two young and creative England internationals who are desperate to impress Roy Hodgson ahead of next summer’s European Championship.
Jonjo Shelvey and Ross Barkley differ somewhat in style, the former more of a midfield playmaker and the latter better famed for his surging goal-scoring runs, and they won’t be overly concerned with stopping the other – a task that will predominantly fall upon their engine room accomplices.
But their respective sides depend on both for similar reasons; specifically, a hub of creativity at the heart of midfield and the ability to direct the flow of possession. Something tells me Hodgson will be keeping an eye on how this battle unfolds and it certainly has the potential to decide the match.