Peter Schmeichel has praised Jose Mourinho for the instant impact he has had at Manchester United since taking over at Old Trafford in the summer.
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But he will have to make do without star front man Sergio Aguero, scorer of six goals in four games for City this season.
United have won all three of their opening Premier League games as they made a strong start to the top-flight campaign.
Indeed, as if the Manchester rivalry hadn’t intensified enough since City’s first Premier League title win in 2012, the North West giants are now headed by Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola – two of the oldest foes in the business, well-acquainted with each other from either side of the El Clasico divide. “It just goes on and on and on, you feel it never stops, even in March you have 12 games to go, you think will this ever stop?”
“Whereas (Sir) Alex Ferguson’s first priority was “we have to be able to score goals” – for most coaches that’s the priority – with Pep it’s possession, I want to have as much possession as possible”, he added.
Eden Hazard, who looked disinterested in playing for much of last season, has aimed a swipe at his former manager by insisting Antonio Conte’s man-management has improved the Chelsea dressing room after an “ugly” season. Perhaps Mourinho is favourite because United have more history compared with Man City.
Guardiola, the master tactician, has spent much of the week deciding who will replace the suspended Sergio Aguero, with Nigerian worldwide Kelechi Iheanacho the most likely starter.
Few will argue with their methods, however, and some pundits are already predicting that whoever emerges as Manchester’s top team will win the Premier League.
“They will always have one over their arch rivals as the season goes on and their fans will have the bragging rights in the city”.
Of course, there’s every chance that Schmeichel is simply upping the ante ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby and it’s unlikely the City boss is going to pay too much attention to his comments.
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“They are very different personalities”.
