The ‘noisy neighbors’ have indeed come a long way, as Sir Alex himself would agree. Any United fan, as much as he/she would hate to admit it, City are now potential rivals. While the derby has always been fiercely fought, made no less vitriolic by the incessant ‘Munich’ chants by the City supporters, the fixture has never been an important one for United to look forward to since the Premier League has begun.
United’s fans looked forward to the game purely for the bagging rights. And, who could blame them? Kiki Musampa and Antoine Sibierski were City’s most potent attacking threats not long ago. Fast forward five years from then and you have the likes of Dzeko, Tevez, and Nasri warming those Eastland benches. Of course, they have a long way to go; United’s achievements dwarfs City’s; and they are not even very popular as the empty seats on a big European night at the Etihad suggest. But, they must be recognized, along with Chelsea, as the hurdles in United’s path to their 20th title.
Contrary to the self proclaimed tag of ‘Barcelona of England’, City’s strength lies not in its attacking flair but rather in their defensive rigidity. The 4-2-3-1 system that Mancini relishes almost ensures that City play with a back six when they defend. The deep lying mid-fielders – Barry’s and De Jong’s job description is essentially to man mark and stop the opponents’ playmaker. In the last year’s derby De Jong was like an incessant pest in Rooney’s park, and his job this time would be no different. So, how would United line up to combat that formation given their reliance on Rooney’s brilliance to cut open the opponents?
Two players that could really make a difference and throw a spanner into City’s works are Michael Carrick and Danny Welbeck. Carrick, the much maligned player by the fans, is what Sir Alex turns to almost every time he looks to a game plan where possession football becomes the name of the game. What usually goes unnoticed is Carrick’s ability to originate most of United’s attacks and in turn to maintain United’s shape. Carrick’s cultured ability to retain the ball pulls the opponent’s mid fielders into United’s half and that allows space for the likes of Rooney and Nani to operate. Though United-City matches have had that Kamikaze streak in them for the last few years, I do not think we would witness matches of that intensity this time around. City are at the top of the table and they would want to be so after they walk away from Old Trafford.
But, what If City sit back and defend deep with no intention to take three points from the game? United’s possession in the mid field would be rendered redundant. Danny Welbeck then provides another lethal option to unlock City’s defense. Welbeck’s ability to fall deep, collect the ball and beat a man or two provides him an edge over Hernandez. Welbeck has come a long way since making his debut in the league against Stoke and scoring a cracker of a goal. Welbeck must have learnt from the likes of Darren Bent, whose primary strength is his movement of the ball, when at Sunderland and more so from Michael Owen. His combination with Nani and Young has been terrific this season where he has constantly exchanged positions with those two. That ability of his ensures that the center backs are drawn all over the place and that might be the key to allow Rooney have the freedom and the space to make an impact on the match.
For all the hype that the derbies generate, they tend to disappoint us with the sober, dull games. The Manchester derby though, going by the previous encounters, promises to be different.
