Man City vs. Man United: Tactical Preview of Enticing Manchester Derby

The biggest match of the Premier League weekend comes in the form of a Manchester derby.

The fixture has taken on global relevance since Manchester City's elevation to elite status, and the battle between Manuel Pellegrini and Louis van Gaal will be one hundreds of millions tune in to watch.

Let's take a tactical glance at this one and see how it may play out.

Manchester City News

Per Reuters, Manuel Pellegrini will remain defiant and stubborn in his attempts to get his 4-4-2 formation up and running again—despite two defeats in the space of a week shrouding his position in doubt. 

"I think that we can play faster than we are doing," the Chilean told reporters. "But still, I remember the games against the Newcastle and West Ham, the best player was their goalkeeper. I will continue to play the same way."

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That means a likely 4-4-2 again, but David Silva has been ruled out for at least three weeks due to a knee injury picked up against Newcastle United midweek. Samir Nasri's return, therefore, is ideal.

Gael Clichy probably comes in at left-back (he plays the "big games"), Frank Lampard is still out and Sergio Aguero will start up front.

Manchester United News

Louis van Gaal has confirmed, per the Mirror, that Wayne Rooney will start the derby, but Radamel Falcao will miss out. Rumours of his captain being injured were wide of the mark, with the Dutchman suggesting the reason for a "limp" could have been tight or uncomfortable shoes.

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"That is our goal, to win," LVG said defiantly in his pre-match press conference. "It is possible, we are growing, we are developing ourselves. What we have seen of City in the last few matches was not so good. You never know."

Phil Jones and Antonio Valencia could return to create selection dilemmas, but ultimately a very similar setup to the one that held Chelsea is expected. A 4-3-3 is an option, but a diamond—given City's struggle at West Ham United—could be the one.

Midfield Mismatch

Pellegrini's statement on playing the same way reeks of stubbornness, and that should be of delight to listening Manchester United fans.

City played a 4-4-2 against West Ham at the weekend and met Sam Allardyce's diamond. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Hammers were set to use that formation, but Pellegrini willingly walked into the fixture and matched his men up two vs. four in the centre.

Big mistake.

Given United's successful use of the diamond in a couple of fixtures not so long ago, Van Gaal simply must consider the formation for this weekend. Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini could run circles around City; LVG could match Fellaini up against Yaya Toure and still retain a three vs. one advantage, too.

Fellaini vs. Toure

Despite Toure's poor form, he's a matchup nightmare and keeps managers up at night. At any moment he could turn it on, and the Manchester derby is the perfect stage on which to "return," so to speak.

Lucky for LVG, he too has a big brute of a central midfielder, and if Fellaini can replicate his nullification performance against Cesc Fabregas from last weekend, Yaya can, theoretically, be stopped.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Watching the two go head-to-head will be like Clash of the Titans; it's rare, at the top level, to see two beasts such as these have the chance to go mano y mano and boil it down to physical attributes.

Few, if any, can stop Toure in stride, but Fellaini may just have a chance given the skip in his in-form step right now.

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