Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester United v Manchester City: Where the FA Cup derby will be won
[LNB]Manchester descends on the capital this weekend as United and City battle it out at Wembley - for the right to play at Wembley.[LNB] With the gap between the two rivals said to be closing, a classic FA Cup semi-final is on the cards and Sporting Week highlights the four key areas which will decide how the game is won or lost. Or drawn. Followed by extra time and possibly a penalty shoot-out. [LNB] Derby delight: United will battle it out with City (minus a crocked Carlos Tevez) for a place in the FA Cup final [LNB]Anyway the point is it will definitely be decided on the day so there is no need for a replay at a neutral venue. Wembley, for example. [LNB] 1. Kick off is moved to 5.15pm in order to ensure that 70,000 ribald football fans are not tempted to spend the whole of Saturday drinking in London city centre with the inevitable calamitous result - 70,000 ribald football fans getting on the wrong underground train and ending up on a guided tour of Kew Gardens by mistake. [LNB]This will be a particularly bitter pill to swallow for those City fans who were at the game the last time their side reached Wembley, but lost faith and departed before the famous injury-time fightback against Gillingham in 1999 and missed the penalty drama. [LNB] More from Tim Chalmers... THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: Roman can't keep his broken toys in the pram... but there are no refunds08/04/11 THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: Ashley Cole and the scandals that football kept quiet... until now!04/03/11 THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: The Secret Diary of an Arsenal player aged 24 and three-quarters11/02/11 Sporting Week's inside track on the manic final day of the transfer window04/02/11 Andy Gray and Richard Keys have their questions answered by Sporting Week 28/01/11 THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: Darren Bent, broken Bridge and Frankie Howerd... the transfer window madness21/01/11 THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: Premier League turns to politics in January sales 14/01/11 THAT WAS THE SPORTING WEEK: Ashes gongs... and klaxons of derision aimed at those wearing baggy green caps07/01/11 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE 2. Unwilling to be tacticallyoutwitted, City boss Roberto Mancini reacts to the news that WayneRooney will miss the game due to suspension by seeing his own talismanCarlos Tevez limp out injured in the week before the big showdown, thuslevelling the playing field. [LNB]Mancinithen indulges in a bout of classic mind games by announcing that Tevezwill definitely not recover in time to play at Wembley. Thistime-honoured bluff typically plays out with the player in questionrunning out on the big day looking as right as rain. The only slightflaw in Mancini's bid to gain the upper hand over Sir Alex Ferguson isthat Tevez will actually miss the game. And the Premier League run-in. [LNB]3. Expert punditsreckon the outcome of the match is very evenly poised in terms ofcelebrity supporters. Although United probably have the upper hand interms of sheer numbers and City have lost the dear, departed BernardManning, they still boast the Gallagher brothers and that bloke off thetelly who always appears in gritty northern dramas wearing his ColinBell shirt.[LNB] A Sky TVgraphic illustrates that any pre-match dust-up over the prawnsandwiches in hospitality would be very difficult to call, with Noeland Liam likely to see off Simply Red's flame haired crooner MickHucknall but then almost certain to turn on each other. [LNB]4.With Rooney out, Javier Hernandez is set to play a crucial role inUnited's victory bid. Hernandez has proved to be the buy of the seasonand is obviously made of strong enough stuff to handle the pressure.After all, the Mexican has already overcome the huge handicap of havingthe worst nickname in the history of football - Little Pea. [LNB]Astudy of other great Mexican players proves they all showed similarinner conviction. Tiny Tuber, Baby Bean, Cute Carrot and Small Shallotto name but four. [LNB] The mystery of the missing FernandoTorres continues as the once-great Spaniard is substituted at half timeduring the Champions League defeat by Manchester United. [LNB]Torreswas picked ahead of Didier Drogba to play alongside Nicolas Anelka inthe game, which just goes to show that three into two won't go. Even ifyou add 50 million.[LNB] Slow start: Torres has gone 11 games without scoring since his ?50m move to Chelsea [LNB] It all signals yet another season of European heartache for Chelseaowner Roman Abramovich, who agrees with Carlo Ancelotti that a summerclear-out is the only way forward. It's just that Ancelotti wasn'tthinking of starting with the coach. [LNB] Heurelho Gomes is improving. Now his goalkeeping howlers only happen in games Tottenham have already lost. [LNB] Rory McIlroy is invited to attendthe Augusta neighbourhood watch monthly meeting as guest speaker. Hewill give a talk about repelling unexpected intruders who you findhacking around the undergrowth in your back garden with an offensiveweapon. Such as a four iron, for example. [LNB]Please note: no elite sporting icons were harmed in the writing of this column. [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Roberto Mancini, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba, Carlo Ancelotti Places: Manchester
