Man United vs Man City - 10/09/2016 12:30

First big test of the season for both sides, will we see a change in tact from either manager I'm not sure.

www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/10295298/jose-mourinho-v-pep-guardiola-the-story-of-the-rivalry

Mourinho's record against Pep isn't great but this City side is no where near the quality of his Barcelona, I don't mind us conceding possession but we should be on the front foot attacking wise not camped in our own half. Both sides coming into this in good form winning all their matches so far, City generally start matches well and put the pressure on early then run out of steam second half, so if we can soak up the pressure early on and weathering the storm nicking a goal on the counter that would be grand.



City's defence to put it kindly is shit, there for the taking, with Pep's high line and their donkey defenders we should counter them to make the most of our counters we are going to need pace. The past few games we've opened teams up on the counter but the ball has fallen to Mata, Rooney or Ibra who are going nowhere and with nobody running beyond either. With Mkhitaryan looking a doubt I'd bring in Lingard, who has that pace and will make runs beyond Ibra, he'll work hard defensively keeping up with Sterling.

Could go ultra attacking with Marcus on one side and Martial the other but I can't see it, Rashford starts on the left after his goal and excellent cameo against Hull, he changed the game and let's not forget what he did to the Berties last season. Mourinho needs to let him loose, pace to burn and runs beyond will give their defenders nightmares plus that will also bring the best from the Zlat and with Martial not quite so hot at the minute it's a no brainer for me, Martial can be the impact player this time round.

Midfield will be the interesting one, we now have the power and muscle to bully anyone in the league and if Pep sticks with Silva and De Bruyne in there, they won't know what hit them. With Aguero out Silva is the one to watch really, he's their main creative outlet, De Bruyne doesn't really suit their system but he has excellent delivery from corners and set pieces so we need to be wary about giving him the time from wide.

I'm confident, if we play with pace and power on the counter we can send these to where the sun don't shine

www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/09/03/no-matter-how-big-man-utd-continue-to-grow-james-w-gibsons-legac/

This was a very good read. Wasn't quite sure where to put it, maybe we should have a history type of thread

Going to be close. Not only a battle of two teams but two egos. Don't expect Joe Harts loan deal to be a factor. Aguero a big loss for City so United to win by the odd goal.

Knowing that this fixture is already spicy ............. now loads of additional stuff regarding the rivalry between the two coaches ............ found this snippet


Ibrahimovic, who moved to Barcelona in a deal worth £57m in 2009, had been expected to compliment the Spanish giants, but his short-lived spell at Camp Nou was highlighted by famously falling out with Guardiola,
referring to him as a “spineless coward” in his autobiography.
“I yelled ‘You have no balls!’ at him and probably worse things than that,” the Swede later recalled. “You are crapping yourself because of Jose Mourinho. You can go to hell!”
“I didn’t have a problem with anyone,” he added. “Nobody can say I did anything wrong. The first months were going so well and then something happened and I still don’t know what as I’m still waiting for the answer.
After few months after [the start of the new year] the philosophy didn’t speak to me anymore.”

Ibrahimovic on comparing Mourinho to Pep Guardiola
“That guy says whatever he wants. I like him. He’s the leader of his army. But he cares, too. He would text me all the time at Inter, wondering how I was doing. He’s the exact opposite of Pep Guardiola.
If Mourinho lights up a room, Guardiola draws the curtains. I guessed that Guardiola was trying to match up to him, Mourinho would become a guy I was basically willing to die for.” 



Hope we do it fair and square on the pitch and let our football talk rather than focusing on a feud between the Managers............... but I think Zlatan will be well up for this

Merson says ...........

Sergio Aguero is an absolutely massive miss for Man City. I know people say they have so much money and can afford to sign anyone, but he is one player they will struggle to replace. He is their best player by a million miles.
It will be interesting to see how John Stones gets on against Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Stones has the potential to be a top player but he's inexperienced and is going up against someone who has been there, done it and got the t-shirt.
We saw what Zlatan did to a player like Ryan Shawcross on his England debut when he was playing for Sweden.

I expect Man Utd to just pip this game without Aguero.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1

Apologies for the shitty quality.

I can't wrap my head around how he's so calm. I think I haven't been this excited for a game since the final in Moscow :lol:

It's Derby day