Derby Blues for David Moyes

The first real test of the season for Manchester City saw deadly local rivals Manchester United pay a visit to the Etihad Stadium. This was an eagerly anticipated matchup that pitted the two title favourites against each other in a fixture that helped decide the title last year... and the year before.

It was a nervous start with both sides desperately not wanting to concede early on. Man City settled the quicker though and had their counterparts under pressure within 15 minutes. They made their dominance pay after good work on the left from Nasri played Kolarov in down the wing, his cross perfectly picked out Sergio Aguero who finished with a stunning volley to put the Citizens in the lead.

David Moyes would have wanted an immediate response from his side but it didn't come. City continued to press forward and kept the current champions quiet for the majority of the first half. Just before the break Manchester City doubled their lead. Nasri swung in a corner and Alvaro Negredo's header was flicked over the line by Yaya Toure.

In the second half Man City picked up where they left off. Negredo picked out his strike partner Sergio Aguero who calmly tucked away his second of the game. United's only chances were coming on the break but were rarely a threat to Man City's strong defence.

Any chances the visitors may have had of a comeback were killed off just a few minutes later when Samir Nasri superbly volleyed home from Jesus Navas' cross. The goal summed up City's dominance and was well deserved.

United scored a late goal thanks to a Wayne Rooney free kick, however it was nothing more than a consolation. It was a case of too little too late for the Red Devils as the home side cruised to the finish for a comfortable three points and Manuel Pelegrini's first derby win as City manager.

It's obviously too early to say that this result will determine the destination of this year's Premier League trophy but it could have a massive impact on the next couple of games and may well prove pivotal come crunch time.

Champions League Preview - Part 2

Time for part two of the Champions League preview, here are groups E to H.

Group E
Chelsea - Schalke - Basel - Steaua Bucuresti

This should be a routine group stage for Chelsea after their shock exit last year. Schalke and Basel will both have a chance however. Schalke beat Arsenal to top the group last time around and Basel have caused Manchester United problems in the past. Steaua shouldn't be a threat to any of the other three. They are champions of Romania but won't come close to qualification.

Group F
Arsenal - Marseille - Borussia Dortmund - Napoli

Group F is undoubtedly this years group of death. Last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund will be confident of making it through the group but it will be difficult for them as they come up against Arsenal, Marseille and Napoli who will all feel they have a chance of going through. This will be a close group with a couple of shock results and some entertaining matches. It should be exciting.

Group G
Porto - Atletico Madrid - Zenit St Petersburg - Austria Wien

Another close group, all four teams will hope to make it through. Madrid might struggle a bit having lost a number of their star players in the summer but David Villa seems to be a great signing and has been playing really well. Porto are another strong team and Zenit have been making a few big name signings. It could be an interesting group.

Group H
Barcelona - AC Milan - Ajax - Celtic

Group H reunites two teams who were in the same group last year. Barcelona and Celtic faced off in Group G and Celtic pulled off a shock win, beating the Catalan giants in Glasgow. Barcelona met Milan in the round of sixteen and dispatched them reasonably comfortably en route to a semi final exit. Ajax and Celtic should both struggle but you never know when it comes to the Champions League.

Teams in the Round of 16
I think that the following 16 teams will make it through to the next round. I have also predicted how far I think they will go.

Manchester United (QF)
Shakhtar Donetsk (16)
Real Madrid (SF)
Juventus (QF)
PSG (16)
Benfica (16)
Bayern Munich (SF)
Manchester City (16)
Chelsea (QF)
Basel (16)
Borussia Dortmund (Final)
Arsenal (16)
Atletico Madrid (16)
Porto (16)
Barcelona (Winners)
AC Milan (QF)

This all obviously depends on the draw but just from the groups this is what I think will happen. I would love for Dortmund to win it this year but unfortunately I think that Barcelona will have too much quality.

Champions League Preview - Part 1

The Champions League group stage draw took place last week in Monaco and it threw up some very interesting match-ups and renewed some old rivalries. Over the next two weeks I will look over the groups and give my opinion on who will do well and who will fall short.

Group A
Manchester United - Shakhtar Donetsk - Bayer Leverkusen - Real Sociedad

Manchester United will undoubtedly enter this group as the hot favourites to progress but it might not be that straightforward. Shakhtar will provide a tough challenge and Leverkusen can also be tricky to beat. Those two will feel that they are fighting for second place in the group, but one good result and they could end up putting some pressure on first place. Sociedad are an unknown value in European football, this only their second appearance in the competition.

Group B
Real Madrid - Juventus - Galatasaray - FC Copenhagen

This looks to be a tough group with three strong teams who will be battling to go through. Real Madrid should be comfortably top of the four but both Juventus and Galatasaray will feel that they can get through after Dortmund proved that Madrid can be beaten last year. Copenhagen will have a tough time getting any points at all from this group, however they may have a chance of stealing a point at home.

Group C
Benfica - PSG - Olympiacos - Anderlecht

This group could be quite open and all four teams will go into it feeling that they have a chance of qualification. PSG have spent big over the last couple of years and will hope that summer signing Edison Cavani fires them into the next round. Benfica should also make it through but it could be close.

Group D
Bayern Munich - CSKA Moscow - Manchester City - Viktoria Plzen

Munich should top this group with ease having already won the Super Cup and starting reasonably strongly in the Bundesliga. Manchester City will hope to make it third time lucky having fallen short in the group stages for the last two years. CSKA will prove a test but one which the Citizens should pass. Plzen will have a tough time in the group but may pick up the odd point.

That's the end of this half of my preview. Make sure to come back next week for part two, in which I'll look at the remaining four groups. This year promises plenty of excitement and it will be interesting to see how the Spanish contingent respond to Germany's bid for superiority last year.

Liverpool Leap to the Top of the Table

Chelsea were leading the way going into this weekend having played an extra game but with both Manchester United and Liverpool hot on their heels, Jose Mourinho will have been keeping a keen eye on this 'clash of the titans' at Anfield.

Liverpool leapt into action and Daniel Sturridge grabbed his third goal in three league games; Steven Gerrard's floated corner was flicked on by Agger and Sturridge was in the right place at the right time to flick the ball between two United defenders to put Liverpool into the lead on his 24th birthday.

United responded well but Liverpool kept up their high tempo style of play, leaving the away side frustrated going into the half time break. The game threatened to boil over at that point with the already booked Robin Van Persie sharing some choice words with a number of the Liverpool players.

Manchester United came out stronger in what was a frantic and scrappy second half but couldn't create many chances. Mignolet was required to make his first real save in the 76th minute, pushing away Nani's shot.

The home team were strong in defence however and kept the Red Devils quiet for most of the game. The one good chance that United did have was wasted when Van Persie fired his shot wide after Hernandez had played the Dutchman through on goal.

In the end Liverpool held on to earn themselves the three points and go top of the table. It is the first time in over 15 years that The Reds have won their opening three games and they are looking like a good bet for the top four this year. Of course it is still early but this result could be decisive if these two end up near each other come the end of the season.