STAN COLLYMORE Jose holding out for a (local) hero
COLLY
Follow us on Twitter: @peoplesport NEVER did I think I’d put Jesse Lingard in the same bracket as Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane.
But if De Bruyne and Sane are the men most likely to make the difference for Manchester City this afternoon, then Lingard can be that man for Manchester United.
No-one should underestimate the impact a local lad can have in a derby. They can make you sink or swim. Think of the importance over the years of Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard for Liverpool, John Terry for Chelsea, and Sol Campbell for Tottenham and Arsenal.
They understood the value of these game, the importance of them to the fans.
United have two local lads in Lingard and Marcus Rashford and, while Rashford is playing well, Lingard is the man in real form.
He’s hot, he’s scoring goals, and he has pace to burn, which is why I’d be tempted to start him ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic if I was the United boss.
I know the Swede has more big-game experience, and United boss Jose Mourinho has said he is fit and available for selection.
But if the Portuguese sets out his stall the way I expect him to, then Lingard will be more of a threat to City than Zlatan (right).
Mourinho’s gameplan today will be fascinating.
He could say: ‘Let’s go toe to toe with them, let’s see what they have got,’ but I’m not sure he will. More likely, he will be pragmatic and try to defend deep against Pep Guardiola’s bold, attacking City line-up. With the calibre of players he has at his disposal, Mourinho will surely plan to catch table-topping City on the break. Ibrahimovic has been out for a long time and, fit as he is, he doesn’t have the explosive pace of Lingard. Lingard, Rashford, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku have been linking well in recent weeks for United, which is why I’d go down that route. I’m c onvinced Mourinho will do after he left Lingard on the bench for the Champions League game against CSKA Moscow in midweek. I can just see him putting an arm around Lingard and saying: ‘Son, do you think you’re as good as De Bruyne?’ – and anyone worth his salt would reply: ‘Yes.’ Mourinho would say: ‘Well, go and prove it at the weekend then’, and give Lingard the chance to take his red-hot form and growing confidence into another big game. I imagine he’ll have a plan to make sure United defend their own half and, when the ball goes over the halfway line, he’ll want Lingard to make sure he’s on the end of it so he can influence a game that will have a huge impact on the title race. United will certainly need several players to stand up and be counted, especially with the influential France international Paul Pogba suspended.
City will be pleased Pogba is out and, from their perspective, I expect De Bruyne and Sane to be the men who cause United most problems.
Guardiola’s men play their way into so many good positions so many t i mes and, with those two weaving their magic down the left and playing their little onetwos, carving United open, they will give their hosts plenty to think about.
I can see the game being a close win for United or for City … or City demolishing their rivals.
If there is going to be a big scoreline I just don’t see it going in the home side’s favour.
I’ve heard it said already that if City win this one they will win the Premier League and, given that they are eight points clear with December not even halfway through, you have to say there’s a good chance.
The winter period usually finds teams out and defines a season but, if City do come away with three points, they will have a huge cushion.
They could even afford to lose a couple of games, have a quite significant wobble, and still be okay.
I won’t go as far as to say that they’ll have their hands on the trophy. But they’ll certainly have a finger on it.
Lingard Li is hot, he’s scoring goals and has pace to burn which is why I would start him ahead of Zlatan