Manchester City vs. Manchester United: 5 Bold Predictions for the Derby Match

This weekend we see the biggest match of the Premiership season so far. First vs. second, favourites vs. second-favourites, the masters vs. the pretenders. This year’s Manchester derby promises to be the biggest and most important for decades, with both teams desperate to get the early season advantage over their rivals.

With so much at stake, and so much quality on show all across the pitch, it would take a brave man to predict the outcome. However, if the final result is one that is hard to predict with any authority, there are perhaps things about this match that we can have a realistic chance of predicting correctly.

Wayne Rooney To Score

Wayne Rooney has a great scoring record against Manchester City, especially in recent seasons. Nobody can forget his goal of the season last season in the corresponding fixture.

It was a moment of genuine quality that kick-started Rooney's season and proved to be the difference between the two teams on the day.

Rooney also netted in the League Cup semifinal against Manchester City two seasons ago, as well as scoring in the famous 4-3 match. In fact, it is almost a shock when Wayne Rooney doesn’t net in this fixture, so expect him to carry on that record this weekend.

Alex Ferguson To Belittle Manchester City

You can tell when an individual or a team has irked Sir Alex Ferguson. This is because when it has, he goes out of his way to pretend that they do not matter.

Who can forget Ferguson's famous “noisy neighbours” comments designed to play down the challenge of Manchester City?

Ferguson knows how big this match is and how much is at stake. However, he won’t admit it. Look out for some sort of belittling comment before or after the match trying to play down the challenge United face from City this season.

Both Sets of Fans To Unite in Hating Carlos Tevez

Though the rivalry between United and City hasn’t reached the levels of that of United and Liverpool, or United and Leeds, it is safe to say that the supporters aren’t usually seen skipping down Sir Matt Busby Way together holding hands.

However, expect both sets of fans to unite this weekend, even just for a moment, in sharing their displeasure with a certain Carlos Tevez.

Tevez became public enemy No. 1 with the red half of Manchester when he made the move to Manchester City in 2009. Many felt it was purely for the money, and United fans have never been shy in sharing this opinion when Tevez has returned to Old Trafford. 

Tevez has gone from hero to zero with the City faithful since his (alleged) refusal to play against Bayern Munich. This weekend, expect for both sets of supporters to voice their dislike of the small Argentinean through the power of song.

Micah Richards To Be Booked

There are certain players who seem to revel in a derby atmosphere. These players have an affinity to their club that goes beyond a simple contract. They care about the club and they will do everything they can to get one over their rivals. These guys are best described as being fans on the pitch.

Micah Richards is from Leeds and grew up in the Manchester City youth academy. He has every reason to hate Manchester United, and boy does he show it every time he plays against them.

Though a highly accomplished defender anyway, Richards seems to go up a notch in matches against Manchester United.

However, sometimes this increase in passion can lead to overzealous challenges and Micah Richards was lucky to stay on the pitch when this transpired in the Community Shield meeting in August. On that occasion, Richards only got a yellow card for a horrible lunge on Ashley Young.

Don’t be surprised if a similar challenge happens this weekend as the emotional magnitude of the match takes hold.

A Star Player To Be the Match Winner

The stage is set for one of the star players to make the difference in this match. Of course anyone on the pitch can be the hero on any given day, but there is just something about this match that calls for one of the star players to score the decisive goal.

This game promises to be close and it could take someone with world-class ability to make the difference.

Look for Rooney, Nani, Aguero or Silva to be the one who grabs the headlines. Whoever does score the winning goal will go down in folklore for years to come—just ask Michael Owen.