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There has been more excitement about the Tevez/Gary Chuckle affair than anything else this weekend, except perhaps Robinho's interview in Brazil, so perhaps we should be looking at who's in and who's out for the second leg at the Swamp.

As far as I know, there were no injury issues coming out of the Scunny match and with the return of Adebayor (apparently fit and healthy), Bridge and maybe even Toure, the options suddenly look much better. However, Robinho's status is unclear, and the possible transfer of Benjani to West Ham may take the Zimbabwean out of the picture for Wednesday. Perhaps a bigger loss is the slow recovery from injury by Vieira - it looks unlikely that he will be fit to face his old nemesis.

Mancini will have the following outfield players to choose from -

Micah...........SWP........Tevez
Zabalata........Petrov.....Adebayor
Nedum...........Bellamy....Benjani?
Toure?.........................Barry
Kompany.......................De Jong
Boyata.......................Ireland
Garrido.....................Ibrahim
Bridge........................Robinho?
Sylvinho

This is the strongest pool of players we've had for a while, yet Mancini needs to address certain areas where we still look weak. Using the right players for the job will go a long way to ensuring success. The main challenges will be -

1. Rooney. If City can stifle this guy, then United are significantly weakened. There is the option of man-marking, but I doubt this is Mancini's style, so whether we assume that Baconface will play a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1, it will be up to one of the centre halves to keep Rooney quiet for the most part. Imho, the best man for the task is Onuoha - he has the strength, speed and intelligence to thwart a player like Rooney. Alongside Nedum, Kompany looks to be in pole-position for this game - his performances recently have been very decent - and the Belgian's qualities would seem to complement the pace and power of Onuoha, at least on paper. Equally important to the Rooney equation will be the presence of De Jong, and Barry to a lesser extent, as the United striker does drop back into deeper positions to cause problems.

2. Evra/Right-wing. This position proved to be a challenge for City last week, although Mancini's tinkering did achieve some success. Whether Giggs will play again is hard to say (I would not be surprised if the veteran moves into a more central position, with Nani taking the flank), but the combination of the Welshman and Evra is a dangerous one. I feel that Richards did reasonably well at full-back against the United pair, but only when SWP, Zaba or De Jong were able to contribute defensively - on balance, however, I'd stick with Micah due to his pace and aerial ability. Zaba is perhaps the better defender, but I prefer him in midfield for this encounter - see later.

3. Valencia. Garrido just about kept the winger from doing serious damage at Eastlands, and despite Bridge's return, I'd stick with the Spaniard. There is a temptation to play Barry on the left as a counter to Raphael, but Bellamy got under the skin of the young Brazilian in the first leg, so he gets the nod on the left flank. Barry will need to put a good performance in, though - his presence and experience will be vital in central midfield.

4. Carrick. If given time, Carrick can cause City problems. It will be crucial that the City players close the space down as much as possible all over the field, but especially in this area of the pitch. This is where the energy and tenacity of Zabaleta can pay dividends, although the Argentine player is pretty decent in other respects. He also can match the United cloggers in the "reducer" stakes, should it become necessary. If Zaba can break up play and win the ball in this area of the midfield and frustrate the normally unchallenged Carrick, City could force United into playing the ball more quickly and less accurately. I don't expect Zabaleta to be able to play with the same qualities of, say, an Ireland or a Robinho, but the longer that United are unable to force the tempo and dictate the play, the better - additionally, Zaba has shown that he can do quite well around the opposition's penalty box in an attacking sense recently. If City are able to hold United until half-time, the option of bringing on Ireland for Zaba may give Ferguson something different to consider. I feel that Mancini was a step ahead of the United manager for much of the first leg, so more of the same please Sr. Mancini.

As for problems that City can present to United, the return of SWP, Ade and Stevie and the continued form of Petrov and Bellamy give us plenty of options. I prefer SWP and Bellamy for this fixture - both have shown time and time again that they show up for these kind of games. It may be prudent to leave Ade on the bench, and Robinho's state of mind is unknowable at this point. Tevez will be the focus, of course, and I expect that both he and SWP may be in for some punishment - let's hope that the referee makes the right decisions on Wednesday. Ferdinand is available again after injury, and this gives United's defense a more solid look than in recent weeks, but they do not cope with pacy, direct play very well. City's lack of an effective target man (if Mancini plays Tevez as a lone striker) will mean high balls from the back or flanks will be generally useless in open play, so using the speed and direct running of the front three will be important. If the game is not going our way, or if extra time is required, the use of Petrov and Adebayor from the bench could be a huge benefit - what fantastic players to be able to call on.

In summary, this is the team I'd pick for the game at Old Trafford -

.................Given
Richards....Onuoha....Kompany....Garrido
.......De Jong..............Barry
SWP............Zabalata........Bellamy
..................Tevez

bench Taylor, Sylvinho/Bridge, Boyata/Toure
Ireland, Petrov, Robinho? Adebayor

Wilhelm has put forward a possible team for Wednesday that includes Robinho;

.............. Given
Richards...Onouha...Kompany...Barry
...............Dejong
SWP.........Ireland.........Bellamy
........Tevez........Robbie

"I know having Robbie in there sounds crazy, but he's killing himself to live and there's no way to die like scoring a hat trick against the rags (he can ask Lardnaldo)"

"I think he'll have been watching the DVD of the derby at theirs very carefully. Yes, he'll seriously marshall his defence and leave them to it. But I think he'll unleash the dogs both in midfield and at the front because he'll realise we could have won that game if we'd gone for it. I think Adebayor will be too distraught to play for a while yet, but the team we put up against them on Tuesday could have won by a much wider margin if we'd gone at them from the first minute".
~Wigan Blue ~