Currently, Manchester United are ahead of their rivals by three points, but with an inferior goal difference. This season, the league could well be decided on this very differentiator given how closely they are matched.
The possible scenarios have been rammed down the throats of every television-watcher and radio-listener, and as if you needed reminding, here’s a recap.
If the two teams draw this evening, United will remain three points clear of their rivals and providing they take four points from the final two games (if City win their two), they will be crowned champions.
If City manage to win tonight, they will be equal on points, have a superior goal difference and their destiny will be in their own hands. Their first title will be theirs providing they can produce wins at Newcastle on the road and QPR at the Etihad Stadium (assuming United win their two last games against Swansea at home and Sunderland away).
It sounds more complicated than it is, but the wonderful and transparent fact is that whoever wins tonight will have the Premier League title in their own hands and providing they win their remaining fixtures, it will be in their club’s trophy cabinet come the end of the season.
Manchester United have taken the opportunity to get out of Manchester and escape at least the immediate furore of the city. They spent the week at The Vale Hotel resort, using the training facilities of Cardiff City, Cardiff Blues and the Welsh National Rugby Team. This left the Cardiff Blues playing staff a little less than impressed by their change in training schedules as Casey Laulala and Jamie Roberts announced on twitter, though the blow was softened by the photo opportunities with their illustrious guest. It’s dubbed the jail of Glamorgan by Welsh players and the media because of the isolated nature of the location, but it would have been the ideal tonic for the Manchester United squad given the scrutiny they are under in Lancashire. It also gave Sir Alex Ferguson the chance to pop down the M4 to watch Swansea’s entertaining 4-4 draw with the already-relegated Wolves. Brendan Rogers’ team will be the Red Devils’ next opponents following tonight’s derby and Ferguson will be hoping that it’s only one point his team will require to clinch the title.
Meanwhile, Mancini has been up to his usual antics of playing down his team’s pedigree by hoisting his rivals up on a pedestal claiming,
“If we win, they are favourites (for the title)."
He continued to play the role of the underdog stating,
“My opinion is always the same - I think they have more chance than us.”
"We play the derby and then Newcastle, that will be a very tough game, then after that QPR," he said. "United will play against Swansea and Sunderland and I think they will be two easy games."
This is despite Mancini watching his side get beat 1-0 by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium in March and to Sunderland by the same score line at Eastlands on New Years Day. It’s all added fuel to the already raging fire and it will one of the two teams will effectively be extinguished at the Etihad Stadium. It makes a nice change from the norm because in recent years, games between two hotly contested rivals are usually appalling spectacles.
The Old Firm derby may be seen as a big game, but the truth is, they play each other so often that the fixture has all but lost its romance. Given Rangers’ current financial situation, this isn’t likely to reignite one of Britain’s fiercest rivalries. The neutral won’t want to watch the game simply because it’s ‘just another Old Firm derby’ and if we’re honest, there’s more talk after the game about the dugouts of Rangers and Celtic than the field of play.
It’s got to a stage now that every time Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns you’d much rather be talking about the dugouts than the embarrassing playacting that happens on the field. These two giants of football play some of the most attractive football the world has ever seen and they boast the richest squads in the game. However, for 90 minutes, El Classico is a diving contest. The game doesn’t seem to be about who wins or loses but who gets more of the opposition team booked or sent off. The fixture has taken such a nosedive that many British viewers won’t even bother watching the game because they are so frustrated by what they see. Every decision that’s made is followed by the referee being mobbed by players pleading for the opposition to be reprimanded. It is horrible viewing and a terrible example of professional sportsmen’s behaviour that leaves many viewers cringing at their screens.
Similar to the old firm derby, the Derby Della Capitale contested between Roma and Lazio is mainly remembered for the amount of arrests around Rome on the day and night of the match. That and Francesco Totti’s unbelievable ability of dragging out his career longer than Bruce Forsyth.
Cup finals in general are poor, with both teams usually adopting the uber-negative mentality of not wanting to lose rather than going out to win. However, with this evening’s clash dubbed as a cup final for Manchester City, there is one significant difference. It’s a game that they simply must win. Manchester United know that if they win tonight, they’ll be 6 points clear and the title race will be all but over. On top of that, Fergie and his players must still be hurting from the humiliating defeat Mancini’s men gave them at Old Trafford when they were demolished 6-1 back in October. Coincidently, they were five points clear following this game and as Mario Ballotelli was driving around Manchester handing out high-fives and twenty pound notes, they were favourites for the title.
United aren’t seen as a negative side and Ferguson insists that they are thinking about nothing but taking three points home with them,
"If we draw we'll be strong favourites but we will be trying to win."
In terms of form, Manchester City have won 21 of their last 22 home Premier League games claiming 77 points from a possible 81. The last time someone walked away from the Etihad with three points was, ironically, David Moyes’ Everton back in 2010. Their recent surge has seen the controversial Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero partnered in four Premier League games in which City have scored 15 goals, Aguero and Tevez have netted 12 of these. It’s been a mixed season for the Argentine following his antics on the subs bench at Munich, but statistically, he scores or assists a goal every 55 minutes of a Premier League game. They’ll be desperate to win tonight and no one more so that Roberto Mancini who knows that if he doesn’t deliver any silverware this season; it could be the end of his managerial stint at City, especially given Pep Guardiola’s imminent departure from Barcelona.
With United’s 4-4 draw at home to Everton last week, they have now dropped five points in their last three games. This is as many as they dropped in the whole first three months of 2012. However, they have Wayne Rooney back firing who has scored 16 goals in his last 14 appearances for United.
The great thing about tonight’s game is that the actual football is a means to an end, the end being who will have the ascendancy going into the final two weekends of the season. Even if it’s a terrible game, the outcome will still be interesting, regardless of the result. Yet, with both teams seeking the all-important three points, it’s hopefully going to be a barnstormer. Thankfully, it’s not our job to produce the goods, it’s our job to sit back and watch it all unfold.
