Five most memorable Manchester derbies as City, United head into FA Cup final

About four Manchester City players are expected to return from niggling injuries and fitness issues to play in Saturdayrsquos highprofile FA Cup final City face rivals Manchester United in the firstever Manchester derby FA Cup final in the competitionrsquos 152year historyDe Bruyne Grealish Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji all missed Citys last Premier League game of the season at Brentford last week But City boss Guardiola revealed on Friday that the quartet have returned to training and are expected to be involved in the first allManchester FA Cup final at WembleyA look at five of the most memorable matches between Manchester City and Manchester United ahead of Saturdays FA Cup finalCity vs United 10 April 1974The most famous Manchester derby of them all because of the identity of the goal scorer Denis Law didnt celebrate after backheeling the ball into the net in the 81st minute to give City the win against a club where he had spent 11 years and was part of the Holy Trinity also containing Bobby Charlton and George BestIndeed Law was substituted right away leaving the field at Old Trafford with his head down and didnt play again for City United was relegated from the top division that day though it wasnt purely because of the loss to City as many wrongly claim but because of results elsewhere on the final day of the season Because of field invasions in the 85th minute the match never actually finished but the result ended up standingCity vs United 61 October 2011Alex Ferguson called it his worst day in charge of United and it was understandable why with his team falling to its biggest Premier League loss at the time and the clubs worst defeat at Old Trafford since 1955 The bestremembered goal was by Mario Balotelli who iquest after scoring the opener in the 22nd minute iquest lifted up his City jersey to reveal a Tshirt with the message Why Always Me on itThe game was played a day after emergency services were called to his house after a firework reportedly went off in Balotellis bathroom A red card for United defender Jonny Evans early in the second half enabled City to run riot late in the game scoring three times from the 90th minuteCity newly wealthy after being taken over by Abu Dhabis royal family in 2008 had arrived as a force and would go on to snatch the title from United on goal difference that season after Sergio Agueros stoppagetime goal in the final league matchAlso Read Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji calls Manchester Uniteds first goal a jokeUnited vs City 43 September 2009In terms of excitement this was perhaps the best derby ever and it had a fitting finish with Michael Owen iquest coming on as a substitute iquest poking home the winning goal for United in the sixth minute of stoppage timeFerguson chewing gum in his inimitable way did a jig on the touchline City manager Mark Hughes iquest a former United player iquest shouted angrily at the officials A pasthisbest Owen had only been signed by United that year following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez the latter controversially going to City and making his first return to Old Trafford in this gameUnited squandered the lead three times the third occasion in the 90th minute only to pull through because of Owens greatest moment in a United shirtUnited vs City 11 April 2001This match gains more modernday relevance because of the presence of Erling Haaland in Citys current treblechasing team After all it was his father AlfInge who played a central role in the game after he was on the end of a brutal kneehigh challenge by Roy Keane that earned the United captain a red card at Old TraffordKeane then leaned over Haaland writhing in agony on the ground and mouthed some obscenities before leaving the field gaining belated revenge on the Norwegian who had accused Keane of feigning what proved to be a serious injury when they played against each other in 1997 when Haaland was at LeedsHaaland already had an issue with the left knee targeted by Keane and only played a few more games before being forced to retire Would that incident ultimately prevent Erling from ever joining United given what his father went through Two decades later Erling signed for City a transfer AlfInge was heavily involved in iquest and is already breaking records thereCity vs United 10 April 2011Was this the defining match that helped tip the balance of power in Manchester to the blue half of the city The neighbors met in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium with City emerging victorious thanks to Yaya Toures secondhalf strikeCity went on to win the cup beating Stoke in the final to end a 35year wait for a major trophy and has dominated English soccer ever since with 15 trophies in the last 12 yearsIt will go down as one of the most significant goals in the clubs history and Toure spoke this week about the belief this victory over United league champion and a Champions League finalist that season gave City in the early stage of its Abu Dhabifueled growth It was a mark of the change that was happening Toure saidThere was a big celebration The executives were on the train with us they came into the dressing room to share our happiness They were feeling like This is it now change is coming now at Man CityWith AP inputs