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 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
Plus it's also posted on the Wigan forum - I imagine they care even less having been knocked out by Swindon today
Hahahah, Tbh I thought i would get a more hostile reaction, fair play Wanted to give you guys a taste of a big game
How about beating them with a dazzling football display, completely humiliating them on their own turf? That sounds better than sneaking it with the referee tbh
No its not, not a chance I would rather beat them with them ****ing whining like aids riddent ****s, much funnier
I would honestly say that relatively speaking, what Norwich have achieved during the past two years outweighs what Man Utd have done in the past 10. Consultation with potential administratiors in division three, to comfortably mid-table in the Premiership, in 730 days? Doesn't happen too often.
