Thoughts on Tomorrow's Manchester Derby

City-United means City divided, the Manchester derby always has its share of appeal, but tomorrow's edition has is particularly intriguing. It is the first time in decades the two teams are this close this late in the season. Only five points separate table toppers United from third place City. There are other storylines like Tevez versus his old team and the sense that new-money City may be on the brink of becoming more than the noisy neighbor. Going in two things stand out to me: City are well set to trouble United, and the Premiership title could be decided in this game.

For a club with a seemingly unlimited supply of transfer funds Manchester City have placed a surprising focus on defense. Solid, stingy play in their end kept them afloat through some lean times offensively. But they are much more than a defend and counter team. Yes the spine of the team is rock solid from Joe Hart in goal to the center halves to the De Jong-Barry-Toure holding midfield corps. But they an array of attacking options. The Tevez-Dzeko partnership up front is lethal. Adam Johnson and David Silva are among the very best widemen in the Prem and Silva can also be used as a creative force more closely behind the strikers. And they do have the ability to attack from the fullback positions with Zabaleta and Boateng. This matters because given their ability to close space in the middle of the park United will be forced to look for creative ways to generate opportunities, likely committing men forward, and there will be chances for City to strike.

As awkward as it feels to write this sentence, for having been undefeated into February United aren't that good a team. They are a very good team, but the fact they pulled off that feat and are only four points clear of Arsenal and five of City says a lot. What they are is professional and efficient. United take the points they should and that may be enough to reclaim the crown. But there is a lot at stake tomorrow. If they are unable to rebound from the odd debacle at Wolves last week and one loss turns to two, they would find themselves with two clubs breathing down their necks and within two points. Although they would remain in the driver's seat for the time being I am convinced the lighter calender will give City an advantage. They are free to concentrate fully on the league and while Chelsea and even Arsenal can rotate players and remain reasonably competitive the United squad, particularly in midfield and the middle of the defense, is worryingly thin. At the same time a United victory may solidify their lead.

This will be a fascinating game to watch and no outcome would shock me, but I am going to say Manchester City win by a goal.

Money-City

For a few weeks now I was convinced "MercenaryCity" was going to be the de facto moniker for Manchester's other team, but after seeing Toure's press conference, I am not so sure. He accidentally called his new club "Money City" twice and didn't even really seem too bummed out, he just corrected himself and said Man City. He also said some interesting and/or odd stuff about how signing there is like making love to a woman and having her love you back. Strange.

And/but/so anyway this team is slowly going from billionaires' pet project destined to languish in mediocrity to possibly being a legitimate contender. With this signing City's defense looks pretty solid. He is a great defender and can also get forward from the centerback position which complements Zabaleta's ability to attack from the rightback spot. They are playing in front of a very capable goalkeeper in Given and a sturdy ball winner in Gareth Barry. It looks to me like MoneyCity have gone a long way to limiting their goals against.

Add to that the stable of lethal strikers they have assembled and the creativity of Stephen Ireland and the thought of seeing them in the Champs League is not so silly. It is still a believe it when I see it thing, but they are taking the right steps. The fact that an obscenely wealthy ownership committed to winning kept Hughes as manager after a less than stellar season and gave him this cash to spend says they believe in him and there is some kind of project they have agreed upon.

In other MoneyCity news Elano is off to Turkey which might be a bad move. There really isn't' room for him but I have thought Elano a very under appreciated player for years now. Watching him closely it is amazing how many little things he does well.

Adebayor Too

After a few days of indecision Emmanuel Adebayor has signed on with Manchester City. Since the take over of the club made them a player in every big bidding war in Europe I have been a bit skeptical about them challenging for the big time but this might change things. Of course tactics and formation remain to be seen but a team that features a front three of Robinho, Adebayor, and Tevez will be lethal. Add to that a midfield with Ireland and Gareth Barry to win balls and create movement and Manchester City might finally be ready to push the big boys. There are still some questions in defense but this squad is much better today than at the end of last season. With Aston Villa unable to deepen their squad I think City and Everton are the most likely to crack the big 4 in the coming season.