If it’s anything like last season’s game on the same ground, tomorrow’s Manchester Derby will have lived well and truly up to expectations. Anything at all akin to the first time the two sides met earlier this season won’t be met with such applause though.
A number of the player’s who took part in last year’s seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford won’t be there for any repeat of the scoreline. There’s even a different manager in the City dugout, the passion will mean that the clash is contested with the same vigour as it always is though.
January’s transfer window has put a new spin on the clash, as, according to one publication, it’s the richest game to ever be contested in the world of sports.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the money spent by both teams combined on their starting line-ups and benches is around $850million (£532m), making it comfortably the richest match ever played.
Spending the best part of £30m on new striker Edin Dzeko in January meant that City tipped the balance but it’s unlikely that it will generate any more entertainment as the away side seems to thrive on putting eight men behind the ball and hoping for a draw.
As far as the gambling industry is concerned, the odds that we really want to see are ones on what kind of offence Gary Neville and Carlos Tevez will greet each other with this season. GNev, as he’s on the bench, might be best off donning some kind of offensive T-shirt that might rile young Carlos. Whereas we’re happy just to watch Tevez cup his ears in celebration much like times past.
