The Manchester Derby
- Sep 7, 2016
- 2 min read
This Saturday is a special one. Not because it is the 253rd day of the year, or because it is the anniversary of Switzerland joining the United Nations, or even because it is Bill O'Reilly's birthday... it's the Manchester Derby, and things are heating up.
Three weeks into the Premier League season, the two Manchester teams are neck and neck, along with Antonio Conte's Chelsea. Both teams have made sweeping changes this summer, with the most prominent coming at the helm, Mourinho and Guardiola.
This bitter rivalry adds an extra element of tension to the derby. In the past, there was never much animosity between Ferguson and Hughes, or Van Gaal and Pelligrini, but there is certainly no love lost between these two giants of the game. Stemming from their battles as managers of Barcelona and Real Madrid, Guardiola and Mourinho represent two competing ideologies of the game. One was a player, one wasn't, one preaches the intricacies and small details of every play and touch, one focuses more on the collective and player relationships. It is a thrilling contrast and one that only fuels the fire in the battle for Manchester.
Apart from the managers, injuries and suspensions plague the first derby of the season between the two. City will be without Aguero, their leading man and most obvious threat. Aguero will be serving the first game of his three game suspension for intenionally targeting West Ham's Winston Reid with an elbow. This means that Guardiola must choose between starting the young but exciting kelechi iheanacho, or leaving out a traditional striker to instead play a false number nine, most likely relying on Nolito's influence through the center of the park. On the brightside for City, new signings Bravo, Sane, and Gundogan are predicted to be avialable for the match, but unlikely to start.
Manchester United have their own squad problems as well, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan picking up an injury while away on international duty with Armenia, and Luke Shaw apparently unfit to feature in the match as well. This could mean a first start of the season for Marcos Rojo, who's match fitness left a lot to be desired in his few preseason appearences.
While City have started their season firing on all cylanders, there is concern in the United camp regarding the form of some of their high profile players, including Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, and Wayne Rooney who have yet to reach top form this season. This brings up the dilemma for Mourinho of whether or not to start Rashford, who scored the game-winner against Hull City in United's last match and also scored a hat-trick for the England U-21 side in their match this past weekend.
It is hard to predict which way this match will go. Historically, Guardiola has managed to get the better of Mourinho, but with Aguero out, it is hard to see where the goal threat will come from for City. One thing can be guarenteed however, Old Trafford will be buzzing on Saturday, buzzing louder than we have heard in some time, with expectation, excitement, and nerves.
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