MANCHESTER, England (AFP) — Manchester United will be looking for
revenge as well as the chance to get their Premier League title push
back on track when they take on newly-rich neighbours Manchester City
on Sunday.
United are currently eight points behind leaders
Chelsea, who face Arsenal in Sunday's later kick-off, and a Liverpool
side that is not in action until they face West Ham on Monday.
If
the prospect of a crucial three points was not enough motivation for
Sir Alex Ferguson's team, they also have a score to settle with their
crosstown rivals from last season.
In last season's game at the
City of Manchester stadium, United dominated but lost to a
wonder-strike by Geovanni and City inflicted further pain by claiming a
2-1 win at Old Trafford on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air
disaster.
The fact that the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover has
made City arguably the richest club in the world means that the
Eastlands club are expected to challenge for the top four in years to
come.
And defender Patrice Evra, who had a nightmare debut in a
3-1 defeat at City in January 2006, acknowledges that there will be a
special edge to the clash with Mark Hughes's side.
The Frenchman
said: "It should be a massive game for both sides. It's a very
important game for us and for the fans as well, and for the people
working for this club.
"We need to show Man City they aren't
better than us. Last year we lost six points, but we won the league but
for the fans it's a good present if you win against City."
United are yet to gather real momentum this season and have managed just two wins in their past six matches in all competitions.
A
poor away record of just two victories in seven away games in the
Premier League is a major reason why Ferguson's men find themselves off
the pace.
But the Scot, who must decide whether to recall Dimitar
Berbatov after a hamstring problem, is adamant that, having travelled
to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United already this season, United
will feel the benefit in the second half of the campaign.
He
said: "We have had a lot of hard games. Chelsea, Arsenal and now Man
City away from home, straight after a European match is not easy.
"Hopefully the second half (of the season) will promise much better for us because at the moment, we are playing catch-up."
England midfielder Michael Carrick is also unconcerned about the Premier League champions' current problems in front of goal.
United
have been stifled in their last two matches - goalless draws at Aston
Villa and Villarreal - but Carrick believes it is only a matter of time
before the goals start flooding in.
Carrick said: "I'm sure we
will start scoring pretty quickly again. We've had spells since I've
been here where we've had two or three games like we've had.
"We believe what we're doing is the right way and I'm sure we'll become better than ever as the season progresses."
Hughes is likely to recall Robinho, Elano and Pablo Zabaleta after they missed the 2-0 UEFA Cup win in Schalke on Thursday.
Having
beaten Arsenal 3-0 in their last Premier League game before recording
the win in Germany, midfielder Vincent Kompany believes City are in
great shape as they head into the derby.
The Belgian has switched
from central defence to Hughes since arriving at City from German side
Hamburg in August and Kompany feels Hughes' team are beginning to show
the control and discipline that was lacking earlier in the campaign.
"The
two wins were very important," he said. "In the last two games we did
not have as much possession as we usually have - but we got rewarded
because we were organised, concentrated and played like a very
experienced team."
Hughes also believes that this week has been
an opportunity for City, who have lacked consistency this season, to
show what they are capable of.
He said: "Confidence-wise we are
in great shape. People looked at the week that we had ahead of us with
Arsenal, Schalke and Manchester United, and obviously people felt it
might be beyond us.
"But I know the quality I have in my squad."
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