Head-To-Head: John O'Shea vs John Terry

Sunderland meet runaway Premier League leaders Chelsea in an eagerly anticipated fixture at the Stadium of Light this Saturday and the hosts will need to be at their very best to take anything from the game.

Defensive stalwarts John O'Shea and John Terry are the rocks upon which each team rely and both will prove key to the outcome of this Saturday's teatime kick-off.

The experienced club captains have been mainstays of their respective sides so far this season, as the pair have completed all 12 matches played in the league this season totalling 1080 minutes each.

Source - Squawka.com:

Those statistics place Terry ahead in six out of the eight defensive categories, but it's very tight between the two of them in three areas: tackles won, tackles lost and fouls committed.

Parts of the game in which Terry is excelling when compared with O'Shea is the amount of blocks he's put in and clearances, while O'Shea bosses the sections relating to interceptions and lack of defensive errors.

Overall performance level sees the two closely matched according to WhoScored.com, with John Terry sitting on 6.85 as an average for his 12 appearances in the league during this campaign and John O'Shea slightly behind on 6.77.

Meanwhile, on a game-by-game basis, O'Shea's ratings have been steadily on the rise as the season has gone on, posting a mark over 7.00 in three of the last four games.

John Terry has experienced fluctuating form throughout his first eight league outings, but again posted 7.00 or above in three of the last four matches, which all suggests the two solid centre-backs are in good form heading into this weekend.