Match Preview: Manchester City vs Wigan

City seek revenge in Capital One Cup tie

By Rebecca Halliwell

Following an eye popping performance from City in the derby comes another Greater Manchester derby against Wigan in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday evening.

Last season saw a City team sprinkled with youngsters in the midfield and they were ultimately beaten 4-2 by Aston Villa in the second round of the Capital One Cup. Manuel Pellegrini has already stated that he will set out to win trophies in all competitions that his side enters. It will therefore be of great interest what team he selects for the clash.

City had developed a good record against Wigan under Roberto Mancini but the performances in the last two clashes; one in the league at the Etihad and the 2013 FA Cup Final, were well below expectations.

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Since the FA Cup final, Wigan have been relegated to the Sky Bet Championship where they have had mixed form so far this season, securing only 11 points from seven games. They come to the Etihad on the back of a creditable away draw in the Europa League against ZV Zulte Waregem of Belgium and a morale boosting win against Ipswich at home in the Championship. Wigan also lost their popular cup winning manager, Roberto Martinez, to Everton in the summer managerial merry-go-round.

Match Reflection: Manchester City 4 - 1 Manchester United

City ease to derby victory

By Alex Mason

Manuel Pellegrini must be wondering what all the fuss is about when it comes to Manchester derbies. His vibrant City side demolished United for 60 minutes, which was enough to make them 4-1 winners. The game was the first for United manager David Moyes too, who had a look of concern when Howard Webb blew the full-time whistle.

Aguero opens the scoring for City
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United started the game well when Danny Welbeck capitalised on Vincent Kompany’s sliced clearance. It was then City’s tempo and enthusiasm that saw Nemanja Vidić's pass go straight into the path of Jesús Navas, his tame effort went easily over the bar and he should have done better. The first yellow card of the derby was awarded to Matija Nastasić for his robust aerial challenge which saw him flatten United defender Chris Smalling.

City’s possession and will power saw them take the lead on the 15th minute when Samir Nasri cleverly played in Aleksander Kolarov to find Sergio Agüero from 15-yards. Agüero's cheeky flick saw him score his 50th Manchester City goal, and a goal worthy of winning any game.

Match Preview: Manchester City vs Manchester United

For many, it's God's day of rest; for Manchester, it's play time.

By Adam Bailey

On Sunday September 22, the world will cast its Beady Eye on the ignition of a fresh rivalry. A paradisaical Oasis of football awaits the Etihad and the Robin Van Persie demons that still make Eastlands creek at night must be erased.

Come 6pm, the blues will be High Flying in the Barclays Premier League table; we hope.

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It's been a summer of change for both Manchester clubs. Managerial appointments and a number of fresh signings (for one team at least) bring a crisp, unpredictable excitement to the derby. Fernandinho, Jesús Navas, Stevan Jovetić and Álvaro Negredo all seem to be comfortable in their new sky blue tees and Marouane Fellaini has added strength and poise to United's midfield. Sunday will present them all with the perfect stage to show their worth as 48,000 roaring spectators nervously watch on.

Viktoria Plzeň 0 - 3 Manchester City: Thoughts and Ratings

By Aaron Leggott

My thoughts

I'll be honest with you all - after last weekend's rather abject performance against Stoke City, I was starting to wonder how long it'd take for Manuel Pellegrini to bed in and implement his ideas properly. 

I was also worried about the forthcoming week, which saw us play the Czech champions and of course, United on Sunday.

But, the players put in a truly brilliant European performance and put themselves in a strong position to build upon that result, and in turn qualify for the knockout phases in the new year. 

I was particularly impressed with Samir Nasri. After some recently deserved criticism, he bounced back against Plzeň and delivered what we all came to expect of the Frenchman when he joined for £25 million in 2011.

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