What: English Premier League
Who: Manchester City (4th; 20 points) vs Manchester United (2nd; 23 points)
When: Wednesday 10th November, 2010, at 20:00 UK Time
Where: Eastlands, Manchester, England
Revenge on the menu
City suffered heartbreaking late losses to their cross-city rivals last year in the league and the Carling Cup – and they will not have forgotten. This date will have been circled on the fixture list since it was released during the summer. The Eastlands outfit have been steadily closing the gap on United over the past 18 months, but need a victory over their bitter rivals to cement themselves as credible title contenders.
Manager Roberto Mancini arguably has the league’s deepest squad, but he continues to search for his strongest starting line-up. Results have been erratic in recent weeks and the jury is still out on whether they can last the pace. A run of three successive defeats before the weekend’s win over West Bromwich Albion does appear though to have brought what many labelled a bunch of overpaid prima donnas together. "Last week’s three defeats, that’s not the standard of Manchester City", said Nigel de Jong. "We are fighting for something. Everybody in that team at West Brom was confident about the game and really hungry to win." Against United, City will be even hungrier.
Finding a way to win
Despite all the unwanted headlines during the Wayne Rooney saga, Manchester United have managed to stay focused on the task at hand. Sir Alex Ferguson would be the first to admit that his team is far from its best, but gritty wins over Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers have kept Chelsea within sight. Javier Hernandez and Ji-Sung Park have both made a case for more minutes with priceless late goals.
United have looked a little sharper in attack the past few weeks, while the return of Rio Ferdinand has shored up a defence that was uncharacteristically sloppy in the opening months of the campaign. However, Ferguson’s men will have to raise their game another notch at a noisy Eastlands, particularly without some key players. It is a fact with which Paul Scholes concurs: "I don’t think we’re firing on all cylinders. For one reason or another it hasn’t quite happened until now", said the flame-haired midfielder. There is a slim margin for error for Premier League contenders, even in November, making this game so important for both teams’ title ambitions.
Recent form
Manchester City:
Wolves 2-1 Manchester City (30/10; Premier League)
Lech Poznan 3-1 Manchester City (04/11; Europa League)
West Brom 0-2 Manchester City (07/11; Premier League)
Manchester United:
Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham (30/10; Premier League)
Bursaspor 0-3 Manchester United (02/11; Champions League)
Manchester United 2-1 Wolves (06/11; Premier League)
Key absences
Manchester City: Mario Balotelli (suspended); Michael Johnson (doubt)
Manchester United: Wayne Rooney; Owen Hargreaves; Anderson (doubt); Michael Owen; Ryan Giggs (doubt); Nani
Players to watch
Manchester City – Carlos Tevez: Tevez’s work rate is always mind-boggling yet he seems to find another gear against United. Motivated by Ferguson’s decision not to sign him permanently back in 2009, the Argentine scored three times against his former side last season. City struggled badly while Tevez was injured and he is likely to provide the biggest threat. Yaya Toure will also have a big role to play as City try to stifle United’s passing game in the manner that they disrupted Chelsea’s last month.
Manchester United – Javier Hernandez: Hernandez has helped United fans forget Rooney’s injury woes and has played a key role in re-energising the team over the last month. The Mexican has the pace and trickery to trouble City’s defensive stalwarts Kolo Toure and Vincent Kompany. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Dimitar Berbatov, who must rediscover his early season form after a few quiet games. Without Giggs and Nani to provide creativity, this strikeforce will have to feed off each other.
Match prediction
City are extremely dependant on Tevez, but the derby atmosphere should lift all Mancini’s players to a higher level. Meanwhile, United have been shaky on their travels this year yet seem to have rediscovered their ability to grind out wins. Both sides want the three points so desperately that it is hard to envision either settling for a point. In a tense, fiery contest, look for United to emerge as victors by the narrowest of margins. It would also come as no surprise if both sides finish the game with ten men.
