Rich man vs poor man at Theater of dreams

Rich man versus poor man at Old Trafford and we have to remind ourselves that Manchester City is the richer club here, in case you forgot all the billions they have in reserve. Manchester United are still the better team, even though they are old and creaky, the recent defeat at Wolves was a shock but had to happen sometime. Of all the clubs they faced, it had to be the bottom club that knocked the top club out, now United have to recover and beating old enemies, City will soothe that wound. There are so many angles to this game, the Manchester derby is something special, it is Manchester versus Salford because Manchester United are really from Salford some 15 km outside Manchester, City is from the true heart of the city. Roberto Mancini’s City are hoping to overturn the dominance of United and be the true kings of Manchester. It is a city where 3 revolutions have kicked off, the industrial revolution, nuclear age, computer age all have their roots in Manchester. And the football has been revolutionary as well. Last time City just sat back and defended in an Italian “Catanacchio” style, defensive trap system. Man U has been playing well despite their recent blip, Vidic is absolutely outstanding, Nani is rippling, and Berbatov is still headed for top scorer. Their most potent weapon is Rooney, when he is psychologically settled, then the team is settled. He is showing glimpses of his best, but he is an all or nothing player, his heart has to be 100% or he looks ordinary. he international break will freshen him up, the key will be his battle against the man-marking of Kompany. Berbatov play well at home and should score.City will play cagey, they know they have Tevez to snap on any mistakes as well as David Silva to apply his abstract version of football. Silva is great to watch, he just drifts and glides past players, then hits a perfect pass, it is hard to know when to pass and when to dribble and he knows the line. din Dzeko will signal if Mancini is open for a game, if he plays two strikers then he wants a result. A Man U win will mean they are 8 points clear of City with a game in hand, that will mean game over, but a win at Old Trafford will galvanise their campaign. Still it is a massive task to win at United, but a draw is likely. ramaisibo@hotmail.com