We have already had a north London derby this year where Tottenham’s very expensive team were beaten by a wonderful moment of skill by Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and this weekend expect some more drama when the two Manchester clubs come head to head.
David Moyes’ team will travel to the Etihad stadium and it will be both manager’s first taste of a Manchester derby. Here are a couple of things to keep an eye out for in this weekend’s stand out fixture.
1. Wayne Rooney and his stupid headband.
It is really stupid isn’t it? My goodness. He looks ridiculous with it on but following his rather nasty head injury, sustained in training apparently, it is a necessity. Was it really necessary, though, for Rooney to post a picture of said injury? No, it was not.
Anyway, Rooney has rediscovered his form following a summer of speculation where he was on the cusp of a move to Chelsea. He seems to have put all that behind him and he will be feeling confident after scoring his 200th goal for United against Bayer Leverkusen during the week.
He was excellent in this fixture last season so look for Wayne to have a significant influence on proceedings this time round too.
2. Joe Hart’s dandruff.
Manchester City and England’s number one Joe Hart is now branching out to a wider market by becoming the face of a well known anti-dandruff shampoo (you know the one). It appears, though, that Hart still can’t keep the dandruff out of his eyes (sorry) when he is on the pitch.
That’s right, Hart is still having the occasional dodgy moment in between the sticks (see City’s 3-2 loss to Cardiff earlier this season) and Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping that everything will be all white on the night (sorry again).
3. A bloody good football game.
These fixtures have become essential viewing ever since City received a lovely great big injection of petro dollars in 2008. 6-2 at Old Trafford, last year’s 3-2 thriller at the Etihad, Michael Owen’s 97th minute winner for United in 2009 – loads of classics.
With the atmosphere set to be electric, expect there to be some feiry encounters on and off the pitch as two title contenders, and angry neighbours, go head to head.