Are these the top five Premier League Manchester derby matches ever?

By Dan Zeqiri

Some might say that Saturday’s Manchester Derby at Old Trafford has come ‘too soon’ in the season, but the eyes of football watchers across the country will be transfixed on Stretford come Saturday lunchtime.

The presence of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola in the dugouts gives the game an added dimension for neutrals, but this fixture has been a blue chip bout for some time in the Premier League.

In the competition’s early years, as Manchester City bounced around the divisions, meetings with United were treasured and sometimes feared. City have stayed in the top flight since 2002, and following the purchase of the club by Abu Dhabi group in 2008 the stakes have been raised considerably.

Title deciders, seven goal thrillers, red cards and late winners, United v City has produced some dramatic moments in the Premier League era. Friedrich Engels might have described Manchester as the ‘belly and guts of the nation’ during the age of the cotton mill, but it is now the cradle of England’s richest two clubs.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, we ranked the five best Manchester Derbies of the Premier League era.