Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta is confident the Blues can overturn recent history to claim a famous win at Old Trafford and the visitors are 14/5 with Victor Chandler to come out on top.
The Argentina international has been excited by all the talk in the build-up to the game and feels the team are in good heart after their midweek Champions League win over Villarreal.
The 26-year-old said: “Always when you win games like that before the derby, it is great for the group, for the squad.
“We know the expectation is always there before the derby and everybody will be talking about it. We have to be positive and believe we can win. We know we have got a great team.
“Derbies are special games and we are going to Old Trafford to win. We are positive. We are two points ahead of United so we have got the chance to make a bigger difference. It is going to be a huge game that everybody will be talking about.”
This is the acid test for Roberto Mancini’s team, though, and City have lost on their last three Premier League visits to Old Trafford, with United 23/20 to extend that winning run.
There is a sense within the United camp that City offer the greatest threat to their status as champions, but Red Devils summer recruit Phil Jones feels the home side just have to play to their full ability to have the edge here.
“The atmosphere doesn’t bother me too much. We’ve been away in the Champions League and played in hostile atmospheres,” said Jones. “This is obviously going to be massive for both clubs. It means a lot to the fans. Hopefully we can get one over on them and make our supporters happy.
“They’ve had a lot of money to spend and have brought some quality players in. But we are just treating it as another game.
“All the papers are hyping it up. That’s natural – it’s a derby. But we can’t afford to look at it like that. However, it would be a good confidence booster and if we concentrate on what we’re good at I am sure we’ll get the three points.”