Berbatov and Dzeko on bench for United

Big-money striking duo Dimitar Berbatov and Edin Dzeko could do no better than a place on the bench for this afternoon’s Manchester derby.

Both managers opted to play two wide-men in a three-man attack, with Ryan Giggs and Nani supporting Wayne Rooney and former United man Carlos Tevez being flanked by Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva.

Midfield anchor Nigel de Jong was missing with an ankle injury, which meant James Milner started in midfield as City looked to cut into United’s five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, Nani, Rooney, Giggs. Subs: Lindegaard, Brown, Owen, Berbatov, Hernandez, Carrick, Rafael Da Silva.

Man City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Milner, Barry, Toure Yaya, Kolarov, Silva, Tevez. Subs: Given, Wright-Phillips, Dzeko, Boateng, Vieira, Jo, Toure.

Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands)