Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to inflict yet another defeat on David Moyes when he takes his Manchester United team to the Etihad stadium on Sunday. Manchester City and United are the biggest rivals in this region and they will be looking to get an early advantage in the title race.

A victory in this match will not only mean three points, but also a huge psychological advantage over their main title rivals. Manchester City have started the season with indifferent form, but they were excellent in the 3-0 win in the Champions league midweek action.

United also come on the back of a 4-2 victory in the Champions league and they will be hoping to improve on their record against City. Moyes especially has a poor record against the top teams even from his Everton days. So far, he has come up against Chelsea and Liverpool in the league and has taken just one point from these two matches. He is in need of a victory in order to assert his authority in the team. Due to the home advantage, many bookmakers are backing City to win the match with odds of around 2.2. United are rated at 3.4 to win the match, which is also the same price as a draw.

“I don’t need to be here to know how big this derby is. Playing against Man United at home we must win, it’s more important to win than to not lose,” Pellegrini said. “I feel good and am glad to be out playing. It’s good to work under him [Moyes] and hopefully we’ll be successful together. I feel great,” said Rooney ahead of the match. The England international is in great form over the last few weeks after having scored three goals in the last two matches.