Manchester City vs. Manchester United without Cristiano Ronaldo

You already know that Manchester City is going to face their arch rival next Sunday. Ahead of the Manchester Derby, Manchester City has already got some problems including striker Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card in the last match against Portsmouth. Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off because of his non-professional behavior though, the tv replay showed that there was not any contact between Ronaldo and that Portsmouth player.

The Age reported:

CHAMPION Manchester United stumbled to its second successive English Premier League draw on Wednesday when it was held 1-1 at Portsmouth and had Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for violent conduct.

Carlos Tevez marked his Manchester United debut by setting up Paul Scholes to drive in the opening goal at Portsmouth after 15 minutes. But Portsmouth, which had beaten it in three of its four previous Premier League meetings at Fratton Park, stunned the champion with a 53rd-minute Benjani Mwaruwari header.

Portsmouth's Sulley Muntari was sent off in the 83rd minute for a second booking and Ronaldo followed him two minutes later for a headbutt with barely any contact made. "I've looked at the replays and there's nothing conclusive. My take was that he was provoked," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "He's fallen into the trap and he's paid the penalty … it's his own fault, really."

This is, for sure, a big blow for the defending champion. Manchester City started the season in style as they won their first two matches and at this moment they are in second position in the league table after Everton. Anyway, I hope for an exciting match between Manchester City and Manchester United.