José Mourinho’s harry and hurry battle plan could unstitch Manchester City | Barney Ronay


Manchester United have pressed aggressively in recent matches and Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders could find the seams in their defence coming apart in Sunday’s Old Trafford derby

It may go right, it may go wrong. But this is the one – this is the one we’ve waited for. And not before time either. A year and a half into the most dizzily trailed clash of managerial personalities since the brown-suited white heat of Don Revie versus Brian Clough, Sunday’s Manchester derby may finally dish up a contest to justify the extended trails.

When Pep Guardiola arrived in Manchester two summers ago the level of expectation was understandable. In a league already obsessed with the José Mourinho toxic personality cult and hooked on the idea of the football manager as guru, sage and all-round rainmaker, the histrionic oppositions of Pep-José were always likely to dominate the background noise.

Related: José Mourinho faces the season’s big question – how to stop Manchester City? | Jonathan Wilson

Related: Football quiz: how well do you know the Manchester and Merseyside derbies?

Mourinho’s defensive mastery works best against teams who come romping in unprepared

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