English El Clasico: The Manchester derby is the biggest showdown of the season

When the Premier League's season schedule is released, there are a few matches whose dates will particularly catch the eye more than others. It could be the traditional ‘top six’ ties, the traditionally difficult away trips to terrifying mid-table or lower stadiums such as that of Stoke City, and most importantly, Derbies.

Manchester Derbies have evolved significantly over the years. Manchester United under Alex Ferguson were virtually unbeatable, and their humble neighbours were hidden in the shadows of Old Trafford's might. City, since then, have meteorically risen to build a legacy of their own after their overnight success with a little help from the shores of the Middle East.

And, unlike other fallen clubs, instead of attempting to make up lost ground over worth over decades, they began to re-establish a new order with the faithful backing of Sheikh Mansour. They truly announced their second coming when they put six past the Old Trafford net - the day they went from being the humble neighbours to becoming the 'noisy' ones, as Sir Alex put it.

The quality of players and more importantly the profile of the transfers made on both sides of Manchester have steadily grown to compete with the biggest clubs in the world in the transfer market. The derbies, simultaneously, went from being a case of David versus Goliath to the biggest, most high-profile spectacle in the Premier League.

The Impact of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho

Last summer, the arrivals of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola – arguably two of the most privileged and finest coaches in the continent – almost felt scripted. The thought of the two men who crossed paths multiple times in their illustrated careers as allies and enemies to take charge of the most financially well-backed clubs in the country caused a sense of hype even before they put pen to paper on their contracts.

Their respective seasons, though, could not be labelled 'successes' by any measure whatsoever. The Catalan suffered his lowest ever league finish in his career (4th place), while the Portuguese guided his expensively assembled squad to a lowly 6th place and won two trophies.

Their respective approaches towards damage control after two underwhelming seasons were extravagant and expensive, albeit they evidently seem to have done a brilliant job.

Manchester City, though, have made a terrifying start to their campaign and have quite comfortably been one of the elite teams in Europe. They are only one of four unbeaten teams in Europe's top-five leagues alongside Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.

Two adverse brands of football

City have often marauded their way past opponents this season

Manchester City have been particularly praised for their scintillating brand of football, taking teams apart at will and smashing goals at a frightening rate. “If you don’t like the way City play, you don’t like football,” Thierry Henry said when asked about his view on the revitalized Manchester City this season. City are currently the highest scoring side in the Premier League with a whopping 46 goals scored and a league-high +36 GD, a testament to their ruthlessness this season.

United, currently second in the Premier League, have been a team of juggernauts this season – both figuratively and literally. This has caused a division of opinions all over, particularly in the aftermaths of underwhelming performances such as that at Anfield and Kirklees Stadium, two of the three trips which led them to drop points.

Mourinho, like his Spanish counterpart, recruited efficiently in the summer and has built a team that resembles both – his sense of pragmatism and his hunger to win by any means necessary. Their attack, often underplayed by their above-mentioned pragmatic approach to certain games is only second to their cross-town rivals with an impressive 35 goals. At the other end, David de Gea and his cavalry in defence have maintained the best defensive record in the country having just conceded 9 up until this point.

A Showdown in the ilk of El Clasico

The Manchester derby will have an El Clasico feel to it

Considering the magnitudes of the two clubs in terms of profiles, managers and the heated rivalry, last season was less than impressive because of how subdued both clubs were.

This season, though, the performances tell two different tales adverse in every manner bar the three points that they desire when they set foot on the turf. Two tales that eerily resemble the Spanish camps which were led to war by the two same generals presently in charge at Manchester.

The two former off-field mates at FC Barcelona were in charge of two of the fiercest rivals in world football, and it was nothing short of an all-out war between them – all the way from the pre-match press conference till the full-time whistle, and then all over again.

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona was, perhaps, the best side in history - a force that could score a goal at will, for fun even. They could put five past a team and starve the opposition of the ball. He built a legacy of a dominance including two Champions League victories at the Nou Camp. He created a revolution in Spain, much like he presently is doing now in England - Pep and City are presently enjoying the best start to a campaign in Premier League history and in Guardiola's own illustrated one.

Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid side, like the other great teams he’s built, very characteristically had a defensive sturdiness that was received negatively by the Madrid ultras. In retrospect, they were one of the most effective counter-attacking sides of the 21st century and still hold the record of scoring the most number of goals in a single season – a ludicrous 121 goals. The El Clasico ties that featured the two managers as a consequence were often tricky games.

Mourinho has always specialized in setting up teams to neutralize threats from the opposition but Guardiola historically has had the edge over his nemesis causing a kryptonite-like effect. This was particularly marked by Mourinho's 5-0 thrashing in the hands of the Catalan – one of the largest victories in their storied rivalry.

Barring the one season (2011-12) where Mourinho’s Los Blancos reigned supreme and breached the 100-point barrier to seal the La Liga, Barcelona tended to have the upper hand over Madrid, even more so due to the Portuguese’ failure to deliver the Champions League crown at the Bernabeu.

Moving to the respective managers’ ventures in England, their halves of Manchester have the slightest shades of the sides they led in Spain. The polar opposite brands of football they advocate, the dominance they have assimilated on the league until now in the country, and the hope that Jose Mourinho is entrusted with by any other title-aspiring clubs in the Premier League to stop a ridiculously relentless Man City side.

In less than twenty-four hours, the Catalan-led Manchester City who are undoubtedly one of the most feared teams in Europe travel a handful of miles to visit their well-documented rivals at Old Trafford for the biggest showdown of the season. Only this time, an examination of the mood and circumstances and the point in time of the season bare resemblance the managers’ spells in Spain.

Almost poetically, a City win over their rivals could see them establish the longest win-streak since Arsenal’s 2001-02 season, and a United win or draw will see them extend their tremendous 40-game unbeaten record at their home fortress.

The biggest managerial rivals in the 21st century battling it out not just for the three points, but also for the bragging rights to their own city and the Premier League. Poise versus Pragmatism. The most potent attack versus the most resilient defence. The unstoppable force versus the immovable object.

The question that begs is, will Jose Mourinho be able to solve perhaps the hardest puzzle ever created by Pep Guardiola in the El Clasico of England?