Manchester derby: Red cards fly when Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola clash
Jose Mourinho's showdowns with Pep Guardiola often end in someone getting sent off, so brace yourself for some fireworks
MANCHESTER UNITED play host to the first derby game of the season with Manchester City this weekend.
The Manchester derby is always a wonderfully feisty affair for the fans, but this time around there is another exciting element added to it.
And that is, Jose Mourinho v Pep Guardiola, two heavyweights of world football management taking over the reins at a new Premier League club.
In the red corner we have the Special One having joined United in the summer after taking over from Louis van Gaal.
And in the blue corner Guardiola, who took over from Manuel Pellegrini after a successful spells at Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Forgive the boxing analogy, but it seems the most apt when you consider the aggressive nature of Jose v Pep showdowns.
In fact, through 16 matches head-to-head – with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively – there have been an astonishing TEN red cards.
More impressive, is that NINE of those have been handed out to players on Mourinho’s teams… Clearly Pep has a way of getting under his skin.
Or perhaps Guardiola’s players have a way of getting under the skin of Mourinho’s men.
Either way, if history is to be believed we can all but be assured of a sending off at Old Trafford, with a United player the more likely.
The Special One certainly has a knack for firing up players, but allowing hotheads such as Wayne Rooney to play with their heart on their sleeve certainly could come back to haunt him.
Over a 20-year journey, Mourinho and Guardiola went from club colleagues to bitter, complex adversaries – with Jose even being sent off himself for protesting a red card to Pepe during Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona in 2011.
It’s a sub-plot worthy of its very own spotlight, so keep your eyes peeled… And get your money on a sending off at Old Trafford.
In case you’d forgotten amid all the drama, United host City on Saturday September 10 at 12.30pm.