Pablo Zabaleta: Man City will take sheen off United

Manchester City fans have a lot more ammunition these days when the thorny question, the one that has irked them since time immemorial, is asked: Will their club ever be bigger than United?

But nevertheless it will get asked again this weekend ahead of tomorrow’s Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, a match that once again pits the two clubs together in a battle for top spot in the Premier League and brings City’s ambitions of long-term equality into focus.

There are plenty of traditionalists who will argue their task is simply an impossible one; that however many titles they win – it’s United 20 City 4 at the moment by the way – they can never recreate the feeling of grandeur, history and worldwide appeal that seeps through the pores of Old Trafford, guarded over by legends such as Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best, Eric Cantona and Co.