I think Manchester City have set themselves up for a fall by trying to stoke up a rivalry between themselves and United.

They have annoyed Sir Alex Ferguson by putting up a huge sky blue billboard with a picture of Carlos Tevez and the words 'Welcome to Manchester'.

Sir Alex said they were "a small club with a small mentality", and City will probably be delighted to have got a reaction out of him.

However, I think they are missing the point. This year for them is not about catching United. It is about breaking into the top four of the Premier League, and their main rivals will be Everton,

I was surprised to hear Arsene Wenger's comments about the way they were beaten by Manchester United, describing their physical performance as "anti-football".

The way football is played in the Premier League these days there aren't really any sides who you could call rough, not in the same way that they used to be.

I have got a lot of time for Wenger, I really appreciate the type of football that he preaches, but I can't agree with him on this one.

It was good to see him showing emotion, such as when he kicked that bottle when their late goal was disallowed and got sent to the stands, but his

Game of the weekend: Manchester United v Manchester City

For all the hype surrounding the Manchester derby at
Wembley on Saturday, City's inexperience on the big stage and general
desperation for success will prove their undoing.

United are ideally suited to negotiating semi-finals
and steering his sides through the latter stages of big competitions is Sir
Alex Ferguson's forte.

For all the money that City have spent, they
a deep instability at the helm, with Roberto Mancini only a few defeats from
being dismissed and no foundation at the club.

You don't go and get a Hugo Boss suit, then match

Manchester City travel to Liverpool this evening for a big clash which is a pleasant bonus for a Monday night fixture.

City beat the Reds 3-0 at Eastlands back in August, but it was not quite the comprehensive victory that scoreline suggests. The result flattered City quite a bit, in my opinion.

This game kicks off the biggest week of Roberto Mancini's reign as City manager. A win against a side still with an outside chance of European football is vital if they are to move back above Chelsea, who are currently two points above them in third with a game in hand.

Then, five days later, they

This weekend in the Premier League certainly served up its fair share of thrills and spills. There were plenty of goals, but that almost invariably means plenty of bad defending.

Nowhere was that more obvious than at Molineux. I have been saying for a while that Manchester United's luck would run out and end their unbeaten run sooner or later, but never in a million years did I expect it to happen against Wolves. You have to go a long way back to find the last time the team at the bottom of the table beat the leaders.

Perhaps the signs were there, though. Wolves have had some great results

GAME OF THE WEEKEND: Blackpool v Arsenal

This is a match which sees a side which has a very defined and distinctive way of playing visiting a team which at times looks totally unorganised. However, neither seems to know how to defend, so I can see plenty of goals in this game.

We are still to see a clean sheet for any team at Bloomfield Road this season, and I can certainly see that run continuing.

Perhaps the unpredictable nature of Blackpool was the key to their success earlier in the season. Sometimes you would be forgiven for wondering if Ian Holloway knows what his players are up to, so

Chelsea were so physically and mentally strong in their 3-0 win at Arsenal, it must have been like playing a team of robots for Arsene Wenger's side.

I was very impressed with Carlo Ancelotti's side, who executed their game to perfection, and accompanied the organisation you expect from them with some genuine flair.

Small wonder they are now odds-on favourites for the title. Ancelotti has done a superb job in the sense that he has been content to take a back seat.

We are used to Chelsea managers with big personalities trying to stamp their authority on the club, but Ancelotti has been happy to

I cannot understand why so many top-flight games have been
postponed in this modern age of undersoil heating.

For example, the pitch at Hull's KC Stadium is immaculate, but their game with Chelsea has been called
off because the roads around the ground are thought to be unsafe.

In years gone by, fans never seemed to have a problem getting
to grounds in ice and snow, and teams would play on with an orange ball in
atrocious conditions.

The only thing that would cause a postponement were a frozen
pitch or a total lack of visibility.

It is completely understandable that games in lower
divisions,