“As long as I’m wanted at a good level I will play on, but part of that is in my hands and part isn’t,” Owen said this time last year. “I’ll wait to see what the manager says on that. If it happens, great, we’ll talk about it. If not, I’ll try to stay at a high level. I wouldn’t drop out of the Premier League. I want to stay at the top level or look at other markets, but I have four children and they’re settled in school and that’s something to weigh up.”

Finally, after yet another disappointing injury for Owen thanks to injuries, United are releasing the striker at the end of the season. Owen has claimed he isn’t looking to retire though.

“I am only 32,” he said. “I might look a bit older than that but obviously looking at the likes of Scholesy and Giggsy it doesn’t half fill you with a lot of motivation and confidence that they are playing into their mid-to-late thirties and I still feel as if I am reasonably young. When I wake up my body feels good even though I have had a few injuries. I don’t wake up with sore joints or anything like that. At 32 I definitely owe it to myself to still have two or three years and hopefully play a bit more for somebody else.”

“The work goes on all year round but obviously intensifies as we come to the end of the season in terms of players,” Gill said. “There’s various contracts we’ve got to do, we’ll look at some acquisitions and there will be some players who will leave. It’s an interesting time.”

Whilst Dimitar Berbatov’s contract was automatically extended for a year in March, it is unlikely he will be offered a new deal, so will be sold in the summer. Last season’s Premier League top scorer has only played in 11 games this season but has still managed to score 7 goals.

Michael Owen is another player that could leave after doing little to dispel the injury prone tag in his time at the club. After a relatively successful first season, scoring a last minute winner against City, scoring in the League Cup final and bagging a hattrick in the Champions League, Owen has hardly played over the past two season. This year he has featured in just four games in all competitions, scoring three goals.

Paul Pogba may also leave, having yet to decide whether he wants to continue at the club or sign for Juventus. Pogba suffered ankle ligament damage in the Reserve game on Monday and has been ruled out for the rest of the season, so may have played his last game for the club.

“One of the players who was my idol when I was a boy was Michael Owen,” he said. “He was quite small and had an eye for goal, just like me. When Liverpool were winning trophies, I was looking out for them because Owen was doing well. It’s ever since he scored for England against Argentina in ‘98, although I wasn’t too happy at the time. I cursed him pretty badly for scoring that, but getting that goal didn’t stop me from admiring him.”

Reports in today’s press suggest that Brighton are interested in signing Owen although this is highly unlikely. The former Liverpool striker has revealed several times that when United let him go, he will probably retire, as anywhere else would be a step too far down.

Owen was setting up the opening goal when picking up the injury, although it was initially thought not to be too serious.

“Michael has a thigh muscle injury and will be out for six weeks or so.”

Michael Owen celebrating his late goal against City in 09/10

The stats are good as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have lost none of their last six games against the Citizens – winning five and drawing one.
 
United have also lost none of their last 25 league games at Old Trafford and have had by far the more testing fixtures of the two sides this season.
 
They have played -  and beaten – Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs and drew with Liverpool last week when Rooney was surprisingly left out of a defensive looking starting line-up.
 
By stark contrast, City have only faced Spurs from last season’s top six and have so far had an easy run of games against inferior opposition.
 
Rooney will surely start on Sunday and he is as short as 5 with many bookmakers to open the scoring. However Paddy Power have gone 7 and that looks terrific value.
 
There could also be a bit of value to be had in backing Michael Owen to score at anytime during the 90 minutes.
 
Owen may not get a start, but given his terrific goal scoring record against City it will be surprising if he doesn’t get involved at some point.

He has scored seven goals in eight Premier League games against the Blues, and that makes the 3.5 on offer with Victor Chandler about him scoring anytime look attractive.
 
Make no mistake, this is a tough game for United and a win by any margin will be welcomed by all.
 
I believe that their young guns will be up for this like no other game. Their enthusiasm and will to run themselves into the ground to grind out a result looks the key to a United victory.
 
Predicting the scoreline is a really tough call. United have scored with a higher percentage of their shots than any other team in the Premier League (24%), while City are ranked second scoring with 20%.
 
A scour of the markets suggests that 2-1 is the most likely outcome and that can be backed at 8.5 with bet365 and Victor Chandler.
 
To me that looks the most solid option if your playing in the correct score market, but at a tasty 17 with Boylesports 3-1 has to be worth a small saver.
 
*bet365 are offering a  free ‘In-Play’ bet offer for this game. Place a bet before kick-off and once the game has started place another bet on any of more than 60 In-Play markets to qualify. If your first In-Play bet loses they will refund this stake, up to the same value as your largest pre-match bet (max £50).

Michael Owen has said it is no surprise Berba volunteered for the role, given that the Bulgarian sometimes plays there in training.

“Berba can play there, he does it occasionally in training,” said Owen. “It was no surprise when he put his hand up and said he would do it.”

Berbatov put in a good shift in defence, but Owen was also happy with his own contribution, after scoring two goals.

“I am very satisfied,” he said. “It is great to play in such a good team that is so full of confidence. We killed the game in the first half. They didn’t want to lose by five or six, so they stuck one up front and made it a bit more compact after half-time. We managed to contain them and they hardly had a kick until the last minute. All in all, it was a good night.”

“I’m not content if I’m not playing,” he said. “I get criticised a lot with things like ‘you don’t play, you pick your money up’ and all the rest of it but I’m not proud of that fact. I want to play all the time.”

Owen has reflected on his first season, when he scored a last minute winner against City, a hattrick against the German champions and a goal in our 2-1 victory over Villa in the League Cup.

“If the season was going to be like the first season I was here then I’d be delighted,” added Owen. “That was fantastic and I felt involved. I was always either on the bench or playing. Obviously I want to be involved again but I appreciate that there’s some top players in the team and in the squad and it’s a challenge to get on the bench let alone into the first team.”