Players talk up derby

With just two days to go before the League Cup semi-final, we're into a quite predictable pre-derby tradition: City players talking about how important it is that we win.

Here's Nigel de Jong:

"It was hard for that moment [our hilarious 4-3 loss at OT]. When you play that kind of game against United and lose it in the last few seconds, it is devastating.

"United is a special game, but that was just a moment and we had to continue and prepare for the next game. That was then, and now is now, and we play them again on Wednesday."

"They are not weaker than they were - you just have to see where they are standing in the league. United are never weak.

"They lost a good player in Ronaldo, but that gives the opportunity for other players to show their qualities. Wayne Rooney has been on fire for them, and so has Ryan Giggs.

"It doesn't matter who plays. We have to focus on ourselves and perform the best we can on Wednesday."

And Shay Given:

“The fans are excited and so are the players,” he declared. “These should be two red-hot encounters.

"Semi finals are great but people only remember the cup winners. We are all set up to achieve something here. We want to win a trophy...

“The aim is still to try and win something this season. We made a good start in the FA Cup at the weekend and we a close to a final in the Carling Cup."

This is all well and good, but the fact is that the dismal 2-0 loss at Old Trafford last May was preceded by some pretty bold statements from Nigel de Jong and others. The fact is that Wednesday night is probably our biggest game since Gillingham, and all that really matters is coming away with a decent lead. I'm already rather tense about it.