As Cardiff City prepare to face Manchester City this weekend, could the presence of a number of former Manchester United men cause an upset?
There is a Manchester derby of sorts this weekend. No, seriously, there is. It will not have the fanfare of United versus City, but the mind-set will be the same, at least for some of the men involved.
Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows exactly what it is like to go up against Manchester City from his days at their fierce rivals; and now the Manchester United legend faces off against Manuel Pellegrini’s men knowing that few return from the Etihad Stadium without a battering these days.
It was another former United man, Frazier Campbell, who proved the Blues’ undoing in the opening weeks of the season, scoring two late goals to inspire a 3-2 victory under former manager Malky Mackay.
But City away and City at home were very different propositions back then, an anomaly Pellegrini has seemingly rectified in the months that followed.
As a former United man, Solskjaer will now the elation of beating City, and he will also know the despair followed by a loss. And while his thoughts will now be solely on the Bluebirds’ survival and have nothing to do with bragging rights, the feelings he has developed for the biggest domestic contest he experienced in his playing time in England could inspire something unexpected.
Along with Campbell, the new manager also has Magnus Eikrem and Mats Moller Daehli, with Fabio da Silva, Wilfried Zaha and Mame Biram Diouf tipped to follow.
And while the last three are unlikely to be involved on Saturday (if they arrive at all), Solsjkaer has a small core of men who have been brought up knowing what it means to beat City.
He is one of those men himself, and as the club third from bottom play the side second from top, that rivalry may, just may, tip the balance in an unexpected direction.
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