Carling Cup preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City

Amidst all the jubilation after Sunday and todays papers being full of Tevez once again, it’s easy to forget that City have a Carling Cup game tonight. Fortunately Roberto Mancini isn’t one to be distracted from the job in hand.

It’s a real shame that Owen Hargreaves has picked up a calf strain as it would have been great to see him feature both tonight and on Saturday. Maybe Mancini will now give de Jong a run out to improve his match sharpness.

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Verdict: Manchester United 1 Manchester City 6

“Why always me?” Why not when it’s this good. Mario Balotelli opened up an initially subdued derby with a controlled stroke of the ball, raised his shirt and set City on course for an even greater victory than the 5-1 of 1989.

Mario’s next significant act was to accelerate past Johnny Evans, who foolishly got himself sent off for trying to pull back the Italian. That moment opened up space in the United half and David Silva needed no further invitation to take the game to another level.

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Player ratings: Manchester United v Manchester City

Hart – Superbly protected by those in front of him. Dealt well with a couple of long range efforts in the second half. 8

Richards – Showed his defensive mettle in a physical tussle with Young during the opening period. Went on to demonstrate the attacking side of his game, the high point being a powerful cross for Aguero’s goal. 9

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Preview: Manchester United v Manchester City

City moving to the top of the league last weekend has given this derby an extra edge, and City a psychological boost. United will be desperate to get back on top but Roberto Mancini’s side have the opportunity to show they are worthy of top spot.

Mancini was used to leading from the front when winning Serie A titles with Inter, and it’s an amazing place to be for City fans unused to such an experience. For one thing, it would make a draw a more satisfactory result.

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