please log in to view this image please log in to view this image VS please log in to view this image Sunday, 8 January 2012 Man City v Man Utd, R3, 13:00 A further indication of any power shift in Manchester could emerge when City and United meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in the third round of the FA Cup. The Red Devils undoubtedly have the weight of history on their side, with their trophy haul under Sir Alex Ferguson dwarfing the solitary FA Cup claimed by their neighbours last summer. But Roberto Mancini's men, who dispatched their fierce local rivals in the semi-final at Wembley en route to claiming their first significant silverware in 35 years, are currently setting the pace in the Premier League title race. The three-point lead they hold over their bitter rivals has been established by an impressive and goal-laden first half of the season, with their most notable result to date the 6-1 demolition derby success at Old Trafford back in October. United have also wobbled of late, losing back-to-back games at the hands of Blackburn and Newcastle, with the weak defending against Rovers and the limp all-round display at St James' Park on Wednesday sure to be a concern for Ferguson. Mancini may have more financial muscle than anyone else in the Premier League and a squad which is the envy of much of Europe, but the Italian has been pleading paucity in the build-up to Sunday's game. MISERABLE City look set to be without Mario Balotelli, Gareth Barry and the Toure brothers this weekend. Striker Balotelli (ankle) and midfielder Barry (suspension) are definitely forced out while defender Kolo and midfielder Yaya Toure have to report for African Cup of Nations duty with Ivory Coast. Mancini hopes striker Edin Dzeko (knee) and forward Samir Nasri (illness) will be fit to bolster his squad amid claims he may not be able to fill the bench, but former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves is not expected to come into contention. Ferguson will select his side from the squad of players available for the miserable midweek reverse against the Magpies in the North East. Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans remain on the sidelines through illness and injury, respectively, along with Nemanja Vidic and Fabio, leaving the Red Devils with a lack of depth in defence, while midfielder Tom Cleverley (ankle) continues his rehabilitation. Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard was brought in to replace David de Gea after his horror show against Blackburn, and while he could not be blamed for two of Newcastle's goals, there was a distinct lack of communication over Phil Jones' comical late own goal. LAST MEETING please log in to view this image Nobody of a United persuasion needs reminding of City's stunning 6-1 triumph at Old Trafford when Evans' sending off led to a spectacular collapse. Darren Fletcher, now another of the Reds' long-term absentees, pulled one back for the 10 men, only for three late goals to make it a day to forget for the champions. LIKELY LINEUPS Manchester City Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Nasri, De Jong, Milner, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko Manchester United De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Ferdinand, Evra, Park, Carrick, Anderson, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck ODDS Man City 2.15 Draw 3.40 Man Utd 3.60 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER FA CUP 3RD ROUND FIXTURES Saturday, 7 January 2012 Birmingham v Wolverhampton, 12:30 Dag & Red v Millwall, 13:00 Barnsley v Swansea, 15:00 Brighton v Wrexham, 15:00 Coventry v Southampton, 15:00 Crawley Town v Bristol City, 15:00 Derby v Crystal Palace, 15:00 Doncaster v Notts County, 15:00 Doncaster OFF Sutton Utd, 15:00 Everton v Tamworth, 15:00 Fleetwood Town v Blackpool, 15:00 Fulham v Charlton, 15:00 Gillingham v Stoke, 15:00 Hull v Ipswich, 15:00 MK Dons v QPR, 15:00 Macclesfield v Bolton, 15:00 Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury, 15:00 Newcastle v Blackburn, 15:00 Norwich v Burnley, 15:00 Nott'm Forest v Leicester, 15:00 Reading v Stevenage, 15:00 Sheffield Utd v Salisbury, 15:00 Swindon v Wigan, 15:00 Tottenham v Cheltenham, 15:00 Watford v Bradford, 15:00 West Brom v Cardiff, 15:00 Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa, 17:30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, 8 January 2012 Chelsea v Portsmouth, 15:00 Sheffield Wed v West Ham, 15:00 Peterborough v Sunderland, 15:30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, 9 January 2012 Arsenal v Leeds, 19:45
Great thread Berb I am looking forward but also very anxious towards the match tomorrow and will not make any predictions until i see which team Fergie puts out.
Always good to have a massive game in the third round...And at the moment it couldnt get much bigger trhan this.....Just glad that as a partial neutral i will be able to relax when I watch it.......Both sides could select a strong lineup or a weak lineup, or maybe one strong onw weak....Going to be an inbteresting game and I cant see it not turning into a massive battle...... game time for Adam Johnson please....need him on full form for the summer
Line ups Manchester City: Pantilimon, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Milner, De Jong, Johnson, Silva, Nasri, Aguero. Subs: Hart, Zabaleta, Savic, Hargreaves, Clichy, Suarez, Razak. Manchester United: Lindegaard, Smalling, Jones, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: De Gea, Evans, Anderson, Park, Hernandez, Rafael Da Silva, Scholes.
I don't want to sound pessimistic but I am gonna go with 3-0 City, it's a nightmare, but thats what I expect.
