The Manchester Premier League

by Kareem Manning

The Premier League has officially become a two horse race after last weekend's enticing match ups which saw both Manchester City and Man United leave their opponents trailing and choking on their dust.

Balotelli scores at the death with a coolly taken penalty kick

This weekend pitted the best of London vs the greats of Manchester, with Manchester City gearing up against the in form Spurs, while the defending champions Manchester United took a trip down to London to face a rather off coloured Arsenal.  Going into the weekend it seemed to be an intriguing match up with favourable results that could have potentially caused a crucial mix-up in the title race. Contrary to the false consensus that was upheld by the majority, where critics and reports were counting on an upset, the Premier League title race continued to roll on as it has from the inception of this season as the Red Devils and City dispatched their London counterparts in stylish fashion.

City conjured up the win in injury time, throwing salt into fresh wounds of what was a very spirited Spurs side.  Looking at the positives, if Spurs can keep this more-than-capable side together with the addition of one or two investments they will definitely be considered a true heavy weight and would unarguably be able to match their rivals in Manchester City. With the citizens missing their two most influential defensive minded players in Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany, I wasn’t too surprised with the eventual fight back from 2-0 down, but credit to both Redknapp, who instilled a burning hunger and fiery drive in his lads, who are now easily one of the most exciting teams in the league when on the attack. Man City however showed us that they indeed, were the team with the predatorial killer instinct, with a fantastic late win which only adds to their unbeaten home record, a crucial bonus for teams competing for the coveted title.

United's Rafael lunges in on an incisive run by Chamberlain

An extremely depleted Man United side expertly neutralised a sorry Arsenal with an important away win as they cruised to victory at the Emirates Stadium with a 2-1 scoreline. The final score did no justice to United’s performance as they created chance after chance and totally dominated Arsenal for 80% of the game, bossing possession and limiting Arsenal to half chances. At times many may have thought Arsenal was giving up as their performance showed. The killer instinct that I mentioned earlier - that core characteristic of what transforms a team from being just a team, to being champions is what the Gunners lack.  One must have the mentality of being a champion if one will ever be, and judging from the substitution made by Arsene Wenger, who swapped Arsenal's best attacking performer on the night, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the champion mentality is oblivious and the trophies will remain further out of reach unless this is mentality is altered. Wenger, belief is key.

United's win certified that the title race will continue to be battled out in the north of England as they collected three vital points that kept them within range of Manchester City. One thing going against United though, is the amount of injuries, as players crawled to the finish, giving Sir Alex Ferguson a massive headache for the huge fixture list in the coming weeks.

To be successful in this extremely competitive League, one quality is needed as games will be drawn and lost.  It is the ability to bounce back from unwanted results.  The ability to return to your best after you've been cut short is crucial to help get the team back on track, as teams like Arsenal and Chelsea show, who continue to string too many losses and draws, making them inconsistent and bereft of that champion mentality I keep mentioning. The two at the top of the tree in City and United, have proved that there are easily the two most consistent teams and are by far the strongest in the league in terms of the collection of players at their disposal and even management. It will be very difficult to predict this league finish as we can never count out Sir Alex and United but for now it is advantage to City in the MANCHESTER PREMIER LEAGUE.

MANCHESTER UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY PREVIEW

• Read "How City beat United"

This weekend, the Premier League prepares for a true clash of the titans, as the first edition of the much anticipated Mancunian derby kicks off on Sunday (12:30 GMT / 7:30 E/T).  This fixture pits the current league leaders, Manchester City against the most successful team in Britain, and current holders of the BPL crown, Manchester United. 

United supporters take a dig at Tevez as well as main rivals City

This fixture is one of such immense importance, that the two clubs involved, effectively zoned an entire city to be separated in what is now a red and blue divide.  In a match with the incentive of topping the league, this perfectly sets the stage for a match full of battles and raw passion, creating the impetus for players to strive for the victory to contribute to the legendary history of this fierce rivalry.

 United have dominated the lion's share of victories in statistics, but one must acknowledge that Man City are looking beyond history and stats, they're fixated on the present - the now, which is to snatch all three points from under United's  noses at their own formidable fortress.

Competition	City wins	Draws	United wins
League	37	49	58
FA Cup	3	0	5
League Cup	3	1	2
Community Shield	0	0	2
Total	43	50	67

Tactics 

Mancini aims to leave OT with something

Roberto Mancini - As a  typical Italian manager who habitually approaches these types of games by congesting the midfield, it is expected that he does so again, but with more strength and steel in his selection, as he is arriving at the feet of his fiercest rivals at the "Theatre of Dreams", where these dreams are rather feverish nightmares for the away teams. 

Mancini can be expected to use a five man midfield with the likes of Barry and De Jong (if fit) holding deep, while Nasri, Toure and Silva diffuse across the offense.  With Barry and De Jong holding the midfield, they will be expected to decimate all potential attacking plays, but to also provide support for others, to allow the team to retain possession.  With a trio of Nasri, Toure and Silva, the transition from defence to attack is made smoother.  Toure will be dropping deep to then carry the ball into the offence, dictating the overall pace of City.  Nasri and Silva will be instant attacking outlets for Toure, ready to inflict serious wounds on any faltering United defender.  To lead the attack, it can be none other than their in form striker Kun Aguerro. He will have to be sharp and unforgiving to his former Atletico Madrid team mate David De Gea, as the task of providing the goals rest on his shoulders.  

City is typically a strong defensive team, however, despite them scoring as much as I did back in college, they will be expected to find it hard to breach the United defence. This will be Mancini and his boys' first real test and they will be fully focused on limiting United's scoring chances.

Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates 25 years at the helm this year

Sir Alex Ferguson - The headmaster in the school of these type of matches, is more than expected to have a few tricks up his sleeve. It is known that not many people on earth, let alone managers in the game are able to predict a SAF line-up, as he recycles and manipulates it so often. 

However, I'm certain that United will be going for City's jugular in what can be a vintage United attacking display; they will be cautious, but will make certain that they are the team controlling the game.  Living on the edge with a high line and blistering counter attacks, whilst always defending as a unit.  Each player will be putting in a shift to match the hard working Lela Starr (wink, nudge, wink), and will be well aware of the dangers of their noisy neighbours.

Ferguson will learn from his latest encounter with City in the Community Shield, where United started very slowly and City took a 2-0 lead,  to be cautious, as City poses a threat from all over the pitch. United's main asset to hurt City will be from the wings, and I'm sure the city wing backs are going to have one hell of an afternoon if Young and Nani get the nod.

Probable Line ups  

Manchester United                           

De Gea

Chris Smalling        Rio Ferdinand        Nemanja Vidic      Partice Evra

 
Darren Fletcher           Michael Carrick           Anderson

Nani Wayne Rooney Ashley Young

I think Fergie will disperse a three man midfield to compete with City's tight midfield.  This should grant them the opportunity to retain some possession on their home turf and to also absorb and break up any attacks.  They can then distribute the ball out wide to utilise the pace of Young and Nani to begin a trademark counter, or they can  provide width if things need to be slowed down. 

With the omnipresent Wayne Rooney, United can expect goals, as he will be on hand to put anything away or, to simply link with an attack lead by either Nani or Young.  With Anderson and Fletcher's beastly stamina, they will provide the movement which will be crucial for United in helping them win the ball back and to also gain momentum in the attack against an extremely strong defensive unit.

Man City

 Joe Hart 

Micah Richards              Vincent Kompany Joleon Lescott Gael Clichy

         Gareth Barry Nigel De Jong

David Silva Yaya Toure Samir Nasri

        Kun Aguero

This is a very strong and balanced line up for City and it also has every ingredient to cause United havoc. The midfield is strong physically, with enough pace and strength to combat Anderson and Fletcher's energy and movement. With Silva, Nasri and Aguero United's defence will have to be on their toes all game long.

Predicted Result:

 Manchester United 2 -1 Manchester City

 Old Trafford is the most daunting stadium to travel to in England, and as previously mentioned, not many teams win here. City would be happy if they could take a draw home and stay on top, but I believe United will pull out with the win somehow - as they somehow so oftenly do in front of their beloved supporters and go top, leaving the title race wide open once again.

Share your opinion with us and don't forget to pick your team in the comments section!