One of the men who will want to make an impact will be Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another one of the subplots in this ever-intriguing Manchester derby.
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But Mourinho’s decision to demote Darmian has reportedly angered the Italian, who could now be on the move at the next opportunity.
But the midfielder played for his country in the week and is now raring to go against City.
“I am normal, I am normal”, Mourinho said.
“The last meeting in Madrid with Barcelona was not easy but we met each other two or three weeks ago at a Premier League managers get-together and we spoke with each other, and with Ronald Koeman and Tony Pulis”.
“They have a very good squad, they have a very good manager”. – Mourinho all but accuses Guardiola of hypocrisy.
While a tight match is expected on Saturday lunchtime, Mourinho feels there is one battle United should definitely win.
Guardiola signed the forward, but sold him after just one year at the Nou Camp after they regularly clashed. That is no truer than in the now infamous 2010 Clasico in which Barcelona stormed to a 5-0 victory.
In the past, the striker has said that Guardiola is “not a man” while referring to him as a “spineless coward”.
When he was told the match was being cast as a rematch between himself and Guardiola, he replied: “That’s no problem”. “Look at what he’s done in the game – going to Italy and Spain and doing it out there – and now he’s trying to emulate his phenomenal record in England”.
Ahead of the current campaign, both managers were at pains to play down the significance of their rivalry.
The Red Devils have made a strong start to life under new boss Mourinho, winning all three of their opening Premier League games.
The likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne will need to be at their creative best to find a way through this Mourinho-drilled defence, while Guardiola will hope Raheem Sterling and Nolito have got their scoring boots on in the absence of the suspended Sergio Aguero.
However, Mourinho believes that Old Trafford is not a place where you can aim for anything but the title.
United have Zlatan Ibrahimovic and that young striker Marcus Rashford.
That said, they are beatable, a fact Jose has proven in a number of different guises.
The pair worked together at Barcelona under Bobby Robson, when Guardiola was a player and Mourinho was a member of the backroom staff.
Ibrahimovic later called Guardiola a “spineless coward” in his 2013 autobiography.
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The Manchester derby was still a big match, though, and City could raise their game to prove a point to the real kings of Manchester, the team who won all the trophies.
