The Manchester Derby: Who Has More To Lose

Going into this weekend's Manchester Derby, we've had the unprecedented talk of Manchester City actually being able to topple their Manchester rivals and finish above them in the final league table.

Sir Alex Ferguson laughed off the possibility saying that City were 'No threat to his side.'

Now although Ferguson's words may be correct, he has just given City the perfect motivation to overturn the Champions in tomorrows derby match.

Both sides endured contrasting fortunes in mid-week as United drew 0-0 at Villarreal while City won 2-0 away at Schalke with a very impressive performance.

In truth, City's recent form is slightly better than the Champions, whose dropped points at Arsenal and Aston Villa have hurt their title challenge.

City have been inconsistent for most of the season and have struggled to hold on to leads as they showed when they took on Chelsea and Liverpool.

These meetings with the Premiership front-runners showed that City are just not ready for the step up to the top six, but in truth when has their league position ever mattered when they take on Manchester City.

However this year, maybe for the first time in a Manchester Derby it could be as painful for City to lose as it would be if United did.

We all know the pressure is on Mark Hughes this season to finish in a respectable position, and a win in this sort of game is vital for their top six push.

In my opinion, this money influx for City has just made this job a poison chalice overnight.

I will be very surprised if Hughes survives the rest of the season, just down to the crazy expectations of the new owner.

Hughes knows full well he can't turn it around in one season, but that won't make a difference.

Hughes will have a lot of explaining to do if his side don't finish at least in the top half, a position they don't even hold now.

For United their title challenge is faltering and as far as I'm concerned they haven't even go going this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo still doesn't look fully fit, and even with four goals in the past month, he doesn't look back to his best just yet.

The midfield looks very thin, and Michael Carrick who has returned from injury himself hasn't covered himself in glory over the past weeks either.

His £18 million price tag is starting to look like a waste, as he has failed to up his performances from his days at Tottenham Hotspur.

Darren Fletcher's comeback is vital for the Champions, and he needs to replicate his early season form sooner rather than later.

United have underperformed in every big game this season, apart from when they travelled to Stamford Bridge when they came away with an unlikely 1-1 draw.

Anfield, The Emirates Stadium, and Villa Park have all seen the Reds under-perform when it matters the most and the buck has to stop here.

However in a game of this size I don't see it changing.

City will be on a high after a good week, and confidence will be high after turning over another top four side, Arsenal.

With Shaun Wright-Phillips in brilliant form right now he is sure to want to add to his goalscoring form against United, where he has two goals in his two performances against the Old Trafford Club.

Both teams certainly go into this game needing a win, but sometimes when your job is at stake you can pull out all the stops, and City need no more motivation than that.