David Moyes hopes to make Pellegrini eat words

David Moyes has spotted some hints of sunshine through the rain over the last week. Picture: Getty

United and City renew hostilities at Old Trafford tonight, six months after Pellegrini’s side beat their neighbours 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Since that result, City have gone from strength to strength on the home front, while United have slipped down the table.

A 12-point gap has now opened up between the two teams. Pellegrini’s side are favourites for the title owing to their games in hand, while United look set for an unedifying venture into the Europa League next season.

And as City prepared to take on Barcelona in the Champions League last month Pellegrini appeared to poke fun at United’s predicament.

“If you consider this season, there is just one club in Manchester and it is ours,” the City manager said. “But you cannot forget what United has done in previous years.”

If the second sentence of that quote was supposed to be taken as a compliment, then it certainly has not gone down that way at United. By using the words “previous years”, the impression was that United’s glory years were a thing of the past and that is certainly not something Moyes agrees with. “Well Manchester United had lots and lots of seasons of domination,” the United boss answered when questioned about Pellegrini’s comments for the first time.

“I don’t think if I was a manager I would have turned round and necessarily said that we were the only club in Manchester because football does change, it goes in cycles.”

Just last week Moyes was faced with questions about his future following claims – denied by sources at the club – that the United hierarchy were considering replacing their manager in the wake of a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.

However, Moyes has since engineered progress to the Champions League quarter-finals and is far more buoyant about the prospects ahead for his team for the rest of the season and beyond. “Hopefully we will be coming out of our (bad) period quickly,” he said. “Plans are afoot and try and make a real good go of it next season.”

Nevertheless, City have won the last two derbies at Old Trafford – one of them a whopping 6-1 victory – and have scored 28 more goals than United this term. Other than a 1-0 win over Arsenal in November, United have failed to beat any of the sides in the top nine.

However, Moyes is still confident of securing a win and added: “I think we have got the level and we are not as far away as many people would have us and I have no doubt it will improve. We want to show we are still in there fighting.

“We will do everything we can to win. We go out to win every game, not just the derby game.”