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The Manchester Derby: A darker shade of light blue this season?

It's All About to Kick Off in Manchester

Ever since Manchester City started their summer spending spree and had genuine ambitions of breaking the top four monopoly, football fans all over the world have been eagerly awaiting the first Manchester derby of the season.

Now that the match is dawning, it is possibly unfortunate that some of the big names in City’s line-up will be missing but then again, that’s what big clubs have to contend with. They are big clubs because they have strength in depth and their reserve players are of a sufficient quality to come in and maintain the high quality of the team.

This match may be the first test whether City are ready to become a Champions League team or merely the best of the rest. This may sound harsh on City after their dismantling of Arsenal at Eastlands but this forthcoming tie is of a much bigger status.

Tevez May Not Return
The major issue for fans has been the return of Carlos Tevez to Old Trafford, a ground where his work rate and endeavours were appreciated by the crowd who implored Fergie to sign him up when his loan deal was heading to expiration.

For whatever reason, Tevez felt that he was not shown enough love by United and was happy to find love, and no doubt a lot more money, with Mark Hughes and the City fans. The club wasted no time in taking great delight at stealing a player from Salford and controversy raged over the huge "Welcome To Manchester" bill-board which heralded the Argentinean players signing for City.

Alex Ferguson was quick to respond, lambasting City for their small club nature and resolving that he would be proved right in his evaluation of the player. All of this could have made the game more explosive than last Saturday’s match at the Eastlands but Tevez is struggling with an injury and may be unable to play.

Neutral fans will be upset at the thought of this as it would have been fascinating to see Tevez haring around at Old Trafford chasing down his former team-mates but you can imagine the anguish of City fans will be even larger. The line-up won’t be finalised until an hour before kick-off and Carlos Tevez will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness up until that point but even if selected, his ability to play at full potential may be hampered by a lack of match fitness.

Adebayor Likely Missing As Well
The absence of Tevez may not have been too bad by itself but at the moment, it is looking as though he will be joined on the sidelines by Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo international was facing his former club for City last weekend and if you thought that the Tevez move was shrouded in controversy, it pales into significance compared to this move.

Adebayor never enjoyed his last season at the Emirates after he openly looked for a move to AC Milan and then fell out with the Arsenal fans when this never materialised. It all came to a nasty head at the Eastlands on Saturday on a day that should have been remembered for City thrashing Arsenal, in a result that should have sent shock waves throughout the Premier League.

Unfortunately, the goal celebrations which saw Adebayor run the length of the field to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans and an alleged stamp on the face of van Persie has landed Adebayor in front of a disciplinary panel on the Thursday before the match. It will be inconceivable that they will not slap a ban on the forward, which will rule him out of the first Manchester derby of the season. With Tevez out as well, this absence will be sorely felt by City, especially when you consider that Robinho and Roque Santa Cruz are also likely to be ruled out with injuries, leaving City desperately short for options up front.

Bellamy to Carry City Hopes
Craig Bellamy is likely to find himself taking the fight to the Manchester United rearguard and whilst the Welsh wizard is a quality striker, the fight provided by City could have been a lot stronger. Players like Shay Given in goals, Jolene Lescott at the back and Stephen Ireland in midfield will ensure that there is a strong backbone at City but whether this will be enough, only the game will tell.

United Win in Turkey
One thing that may hand City a favour is the fact that they had a free midweek whilst their opponents were involved in a tough Champions League match in Turkey. This country is never an easy place to visit and United will have expended a lot of energy in securing a 1-0 victory which has got their European campaign off to a flying start.

There will no doubt be envious glances cast towards Madrid where Ronaldo scored two goals for his new club in their 5-2 triumph over FC Zurich in Switzerland but it is time for United to look forward. Even though Ronaldo is gone, United can still rely on their old favourites and it was Paul Scholes who notched a winner late on in Turkey.

Scholes was sent off in United’s last league match away to Tottenham Hotspur and this too will rule him out of the Manchester derby but his absence will be felt less by United than the omissions from the City squad. The early part of the season has seen some fans question United’s form and the performance of some of their new players but the old guard like Scholes, Giggs and even Wayne Rooney have given hope that United can stay on the march for silverware.

Is the Manchester Derby Important This Season?
The Manchester derby has usually just been about bragging rights and it has always been more important for City fans than it has been for their United rivals. United consider their rivalry with Liverpool to be a more important one and with both teams locked on the same number of top flight titles, it is obvious this is a big year for that rivalry but this may just be the season where Manchester bristles with a true rivalry.

It is fair to say that this year’s game is more important for City but this is only because a win will signpost their arrival on the big stage in English football.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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