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Manchester City v Manchester United (aka Scum of the Earth)
Old Trafford, Trafford (aka Swamp)

Tuesday 25 March 2014
Kickoff: 1945 GMT

Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: S Burt & D England
Fourth Official: Philip Dowd

TV Coverage in UK: Sky Sports 1 HD (Sky 401), Sky Sports 1 (Sky 407) and Sky 3D (Sky 170)
Coverage starts at 1900 GMT
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Hart
Zaba - Komps - Demi - Kola
Yaya - Ferdy
Navas - Silva - Nasri
Dzeko (or Beast if Dzonkey is still coughing)

Rag Bastards 0 - God's Own 10

Enough intro!

This will be an interesting game. Both teams are missing their number one strikers and both won their games yesterday. I believe we have more quality than them so we should win it.

With the goal scoring form that Yaya is in, I would push him up and let Milner play alongside Ferna. Navas drops to the bench. Dzeko or Negredo, doesn't really matter who starts as they are both misfiring at the moment.

Hart
Zaba - Komps - Demi - Kola
Milner - Ferna
Silva - Yaya - Nasri
Dzeko

If we play Garcia, Fred and Yaya we will roll their non-existent midfield and dominate this game.

As much as we all know Milner can do a job in centre mid, when did Pellers actually last play him there?

I agree with a 5 man mid (if Aguero isn't fit) and push yaya fed to shit them right up

I am actually glad it's in two days and not a whole week to wait for it ... Arsenal game at the weekend will worry me slightly more than this one.

We need to expose Rafael and Evra so I'd be tempted to go with Navas. The key is to hustle mercilessly Carrick Mata and especially grand pa if they're stupid enough to play him. Giggs only plays well when he's given time. Ditto the others. Will Dzeko play his full part in defending from the front if he plays? Not sure. Hope Jovetic gets half an hour from the bench. United won't like dealing with him one bit.

AG7 wrote:I am actually glad it's in two days and not a whole week to wait for it ... Arsenal game at the weekend will worry me slightly more than this one.

we tonked them at our place and they have just been tonked again by chelski.

we need to tonk them again.

blues2win wrote:We need to expose Rafael and Evra so I'd be tempted to go with Navas. The key is to hustle mercilessly Carrick Mata and especially grand pa if they're stupid enough to play him. Giggs only plays well when he's given time. Ditto the others. Will Dzeko play his full part in defending from the front if he plays? Not sure. Hope Jovetic gets half an hour from the bench. United won't like dealing with him one bit.

They might have Carrick playing at centre-back.....if so, that would be most interesting.

Let's not loose our judgement just because they have the most annoyingly bitter shit-headed jealous fans in the world.
All they are is a not very good mid-table team, OK so they are the current 'champions' but they're the worst ever 'champions' in league history and they aren't even capable of a top 5 challenge - I just hope we field some of our fringe players and keep our focus on the big game next Saturday.

As derby's go I'm far more excited about our trip to Anfield because Liverpool are challenging for the title. That will be a real 6 pointer and is the derby that we should set our sights on because it's the one against good opposition and the one that matters in terms of our success (unlike our trip to trafford which must now take the place of our trip to Blackburn in previous seasons).

Herb wrote:Let's not loose our judgement just because they have the most annoyingly bitter shit-headed jealous fans in the world.
All they are is a not very good mid-table team, OK so they are the current 'champions' but they're the worst ever 'champions' in league history and they aren't even capable of a top 5 challenge - I just hope we field some of our fringe players and keep our focus on the big game next Saturday.

As derby's go I'm far more excited about our trip to Anfield because Liverpool are challenging for the title. That will be a real 6 pointer and is the derby that we should set our sights on because it's the one against good opposition and the one that matters in terms of our success (unlike our trip to trafford which must now take the place of our trip to Blackburn in previous seasons).

They are a poor team with their best striker out. Nevertheless, we have to put our best side out and make sure we win. We have four tough away games to go and can only afford to drop maybe six points between now and the end of the season. We have to win at the shithole.

On current form they're a mid table side with a defensive injury crisis - I can't wait for the match personally.

My team would be

Hart
Zaba Kompany Lescott Clichy
Fern Yaya
Nasri Jovetic silva
Dzeko

If Jojo is not fit to start then push Yaya up and bring Jimmy in alongside Fern the Great. Navas can scare them off the bench after we have run them ragged. Raggedy Rsgs

Think their central defence and centre mid areas will be very weak so wouldn't be surprised if we packed those areas and rely on fullbacks for width. Like the idea of Nasri and Silva pulling their defence out of any semblance of shape.

Dameerto wrote:On current form they're a mid table side with a defensive injury crisis - I can't wait for the match personally.

Just seen some of their game v West Ham & they looked absolutely no different to me, than in any of their recent debacles. Had they been playing a top 6 side (but not Arsenal) yesterday, they would have been crushed. They were lathargic & unimaginative.

I expect them to raise their game v City, but provided we don't make a fucking mess of it (ie miss loads of chances & get a red card) we should be able to cause them many more problems than they cause us. And that goes for Arsenal too.

Was working last night with a mate of mine whose always been a big Utd fan, but he didn't even know their result; hadn't bothered.

We were having a fairly in depth discussion about tactics etc & how the rags could be repaired/how City can become THE best, signings needed etc then he told me, deadly serious, the player we need to put the last piece in the jigsaw "You want to bid for that Felliaini man..". You had to be there but, my mate's a rasta guy & the way he delivered the line all straight faced, then collapsed into complete fucking hilarity, taking me along with him; I haven't laughed so much in ages. That sums it all up for me.

We have a job to do this week, but if we are worthy of the title, barring bizarre circumstances it's a job we should do. Both at the swamp & the Emirates. Players & manager should sort this.

Proper champs win these games & grab hold of the trophy.

Bit out there but I'd go for a 4-6-0

Hart
Zabba, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy
Milner, Fernandinho, Yaya
Silva, Nasri, Navas

Logic is swamp the midfield and allow them no room. Our midfielders will have plenty of room to roam and cause havoc and as we know, they are very capable of scoring

It's a derby so we need to be firing on all cylinders no matter how shite they've looked - lets not forget that we've beaten then when the tables where turned!

However if we play like we are capable of we should tear them a new one, they surely cannot contemplate parking the bus like most mid table teams do which should play into our usual game plan quite well.

Job done, 0-4 up by the 60th minute and sub Silva and Yaya off with an eye on the Arse game.

Twobob wrote:It's a derby so we need to be firing on all cylinders no matter how shite they've looked - lets not forget that we've beaten then when the tables where turned! However if we play like we are capable of we should tear them a new one, they surely cannot contemplate parking the bus like most mid table teams do which should play into our usual game plan quite well. Job done, 0-4 up by the 60th minute and sub Silva and Yaya off with an eye on the Arse game.

Totally agree Twobob

I am sure some of the previous post in this thread were possibly written tongue in cheek..... Mid table team bla bla bla, this IS a derby game and as you quite rightly say about tables turned in years gone by.

We need to be out fast and strong, battering them from the outset, certainly none of the pedestrian starts of our recent games. They will be looking for penalties with their cheating diving, their tactics will be to try and have us down to 10 men as quickly as possible.

I am probably more uncomfortable about playing them now, than I have done years. We all know their wank supporters will come out of hiding (even if only for a few days) should they win.

It is still the derby and bragging rights very much in the minds of players as well us the supporters.

I hope to god we smash them, coming of that to play the gooners will ideal. Let's have Dzeko and Negredo pinging them in for fun, get their confidences back rather than relying on the middle field to bail them out again.

So they best Wham away 2-0. We won there 3-0 when we were already 6/0 up. Treat the game seriously, yes if course, but no need to be afraid.

Hart

Zaba komps lescott kola

Fernandinho Garcia

Nasri yaya silva

Dzeko

Dominate the midfield, cut the forwards off. Don't let them have a shot on target.

Win 2-0. Laugh at the rags in work on Wednesday.

Hutch's Shoulder wrote:So they best Wham away 2-0. We won there 3-0 when we were already 6/0 up. Treat the game seriously, yes if course, but no need to be afraid.

If we produce anything close to our best form, & the rags beat us fair & square, then they will have turned in one hell of a performance & all we can do is grind our teeth & wonder why the fuck they didn't produce it v Liverpool or Chelsea.

But the chances of the rags actually doing that are failrly small. Improvement by the rags? Quite possibly. Sudden change to being that good ? Very unlikely. If we lose this, it will almost certainly be because we make a dog's arse of it

Play properly, we win.