THE most eagerly-awaited Manchester derby for many a long year is just days away as United boss Jose Mourinho and City manager Pep Guardiola lock horns for the first time in the Premier League.
The two new, main men in Manchester now ‘the centre of the football universe’ according to PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor  - have crossed swords in Spain, of course, as the respective managers of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But, as we all know, the English Premier League is a different kettle of fish to La Liga and these two managerial giants will be fighting tooth and nail to add English league success to that they enjoyed in Spain, Italy and France.
Mourinho, of course, has been King of the Hill in England before and many believe that his knowledge of the toughest league in the world will give him the edge
In the short term, at least.
The excitement and anticipation ahead of this Saturday lunchtimeÂ’s showdown is already reaching fever pitch
And not just in the capital of the north.Â
We have delved into the football archives to select our 'Six of the Best' Manchester derbies down the years
Goals, stars and drama aplenty - and no shortage of controversy to add to the mix.
Maybe you have different ideas, but here's our super six...
1
Manchester United 0 Manchester City 1: April 1974
For those of a 'certain age' the moment United legend Denis Law sent his old club packing to the second tier of English football - with an audacious backheel - was one of the most iconic moments of that or any other era
Law, who scored 237 goals for the Red Devils during his 11-year stay at Old Trafford, looked embarrassed as the ball trickled past Alex Stepney, who was equally red-faced
No customary arm up/sleeve down celebration from Law who was almost immediately substituted to bring the curtain down on a memorable career
Some consolation for Law, who was adorned with a red scarf by United fans after the goal, was that subsequent results meant United would have been relegated in any case.
2
Manchester United 4 Manchester City 3: September 2009
With moneybags City splashing out more than £100m on new talent in the summer - most notably, the £25m they paid for former United favourite Carlos Tevez - this clash had more of a bitter, cutting edge to most that had preceded it
Three times United took the lead; three times City pegged them back, thanks in no small part to the two-goal contribution of the lippy livewire that is Craig Bellamy
But deep into 'Fergie time' - the 96th minute actually - Michael Owen sent the majority of Old Trafford into raptures with a time-honoured finish following a sublime assist by Ryan Giggs
Owen didn't have the best of times at OT, but he will forever have a place in the hearts of United fans for this one moment.
3
Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3: November 1993
The taunts of the City fans in sarcastic and foul-mouthed reference to United's Champions League exit to Galatasaray four days previously when they surrendered a 2-0 lead, came back to haunt them
Big time
On this occasion, it was Brian Horton's City  who failed to hang on to a two-goal lead given to them by Niall Quinn before half time
Eric Cantona pulled a goal back for United after a poor headed clearance by Michel Vonk and the mercurial Frenchman levelled after 78 minutes to silence their 'noisy neighbours' who could not believe what they were seeing when Roy Keane smashed home a late winner in his first Manchester derby.
4
Manchester United 1 Manchester City 6: October 2011
Sir Alex Ferguson, so often the victor, was forced to endure what he described as 'the worst day ever' as Roberto Mancini's men went on the rampage in the second half after Jonny Evans had been sent off on a day he would want to forget too
Mario Balotelli had opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and added a second soon after Evans' costly red card
There was no way back for United when Sergio Aguero made it 3-0 before Eden Dzeko (two) and David Silva completed an emphatic win for City who used this as a springboard to Premier Leaguue title success
United had to settle for an FA Cup Final triumph and a victory over their Manchester rivals along the way.Â
5
Manchester City 5 Manchester United 1: September 1989
Until the 6-1 away win mentioned earlier, this was considered City's best performance against United in the modern era
Especially given the fact that the men in blue had only just returned to the top tier of English football after a spell in the Second Division
In United's defence (not that they had one), they were still rebuilding under Sir Alex Ferguson and looked a long way off the all-conquering team they went on to be
David Oldfield, Trevor Morley and Ian Bishop sent a rampaging City into a 3-0 lead and, despite the fact a brilliant Mark Hughes' goal reduced the deficit, City ran out emphatic winners thanks to further goals from Oldfield (best day of his career) and Andy Hinchcliffe.
6
Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3: December 2012
United took their 6-1 home defeat in 2011 and City's subsequent title success badly
Very badly
No-one more so than Sir Alex Ferguson, as you can imagine, and he was determined they would never suffer such a public humiliation
The players too, and this latest clash gave them the perfect opportunity to lay down a marker and send out a message to City and the rest of the Premier League: 'we're back'
Wayne Rooney gave United a 2-0 lead within half an hour and, at that stage, City looked down and out
Goals from Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta looked to have completed the comeback but Robin Van Persie had other ideas and struck the United winner in injury time
How often have we heard that phrase before?
* They are our top six from the modern era - well, relatively modern - but there are plenty more classic encounters you could chose from.
Source : DSG
Source: DSG