Very much the feeling that the Premier League title will be heading to Manchester once again next May but City appear to be closing the gap all the time on current champions United and the two meet in the Community Shield on Sunday.
The Wembley clash will give us an early indication as to how last season’s FA Cup winners will fare this term against England’s best and with Sergio Aguerro, a summer signing from Athletico Madrid, a ready-made replacement for the want away Carlos Tevez there is every reason to suggest the blue half of the north west could have plenty to celebrate come the end of the campaign.
City manager Roberto Mancini was notoriously negative in matches against the top sides last season but the Italian knows that if his men are to push for the title then they will have to raise their standards against teams like the Red Devils and I expect the Citizens to be slightly more adventurous over the next nine months.
Much of City’s best performances in the second half of last season came when Yaya Toure found himself in a more advanced role and, with Nigel De Jong shielding a resolute backline led by the excellent Vincent Kompany, the Ivorian midfielder should continue to flourish further forward.
Toure, alongside Mario Balotelli and David Silva, should provide Aguerro and likely strike partner Edin Dzeko with plenty of ammunition to test new United stopper David De Gea, also an acquisition from the Spanish capital, and, although Sir Alex Ferguson always treats the curtain-raiser as a glorified pre-season friendly, both teams will want to lay down an early marker.
De Gea has been joined at Old Trafford in the off-season by Ashley Young and Phil Jones and the former is expected to start in London. The ex-Aston Villa winger looks a shrewd purchase, and a good value one at that, but United will be missing Mexican striker Javier Hernandez who suffered concussion in training last week.
United were labelled as substandard title winners in the spring but there can be very little doubting their quality and the fact they triumphed when below their best on numerous occasions is testament to their character. Still the team to beat, they are rightly favourites for Premier League glory once more and could prove very tough to beat over the coming season.
This will go straight to penalties if it ends level after 90 minutes and with that having been the case in three of the past four seasons, United prevailing on two occasions, I think the 3.40 about the draw with Sky Bet is more than acceptable.
It could just provide De Gea with the chance to make himself a hero in his first competitive match but should make for decent viewing either way and is well worth tuning in for.
1pt Back Draw @ 3.40 (Sky Bet)
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