3. Robin Van Persie vs. Vincent Kompany
The Belgian centre-half usually enjoys playing against United, putting in typically impressive performances in the past and revelling in the occasion, so he will fancy his chances of putting another strong performance in on home turf today. Van Persie might be in form this season, but his record against City is not great - he has scored just one goal in 11 appearances against Mancini's men, and suffered a particularly tough match last season against Kompany for Arsenal. He will be without the services of United's wing duo Valencia and Nani, so he might find his chances at a premium, but it will be how he gets around Kompany that will affect the outcome of the game more than anything. If Van Persie can get the best of Kompany he might well be confident of hitting the net - he is joint top scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals, and in Joe Hart he faces a goalkeeper suffering an uncharacteristic drop in form.