Local pride and a place in the FA Cup final will be at stake when Manchester's arch-rivals lock horns at Wembley on Saturday.
Blues and Red Devils do battle at Wembley for right to grace final
Local pride and a place in the FA Cup final will be at stake when Manchester's arch-rivals lock horns at Wembley on Saturday.
Much of the build-up to the game has focused on the absence of two strikers, with both sides set to be without their most talismanic attacking weapons.
An untimely injury to Carlos Tevez has stripped Manchester City of the services of their skipper, while Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney is set to sit out the second game of his two-match ban.
There will, however, still be plenty of firepower on show at the home of English football and a derby date with so much at stake will only help to add to the occasion.
Ambitious City know that the FA Cup represents their last chance to pick up silverware this season and end their 35-year-wait for a major trophy.
Unfortunately for them, their recent record on the road suggests they could be in trouble, with Roberto Mancini's men having failed to win away from Eastlands since Boxing Day, a run of 10 games.
City have also lost their last four meetings with United in the FA Cup and have prevailed in just two of their last seven meetings with Premier League rivals in English football's most prestigious knockout competition.
Mancini's men will also be hugely disappointed to have seen Tevez ruled out, with the Argentine having plundered more goals on his own this season (22) than possible stand-ins Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Jo have managed between them (17).
United will also be hampered by the absence of Rooney, who has been in red-hot form of late, but have plenty of back-up options available.
The Red Devils have, rather surprisingly, gone seven years since they last tasted FA Cup glory, but remain the most successful side in the competition's history.
Success this season would help United to edge closer to another Treble, with Sir Alex Ferguson's side also well placed in the hunt for Premier League and UEFA Champions League glory.
The Red Devils have lost only one of their previous nine semi-finals under Ferguson, to Everton in 2009, and no side has managed to breach their defence twice in an FA Cup game since Middlesbrough in 2007.
City team news
Mancini must come up with a makeshift forward line for Manchester City's date with destiny.
With skipper Tevez ruled out by a hamstring injury, Mancini must decide whether to include Balotelli, Dzeko or both for the mouth-watering clash with United.
Micah Richards returns after three weeks out with his own hamstring problem, while David Silva and Nigel de Jong will be included after failing to make the starting line-up for Monday's defeat at Liverpool.
United team news
Rooney's suspension provides the only selection dilemma to Ferguson, with Dimitar Berbatov likely to be drafted back into the starting XI alongside Javier Hernandez.
The only other absentee for United is Darren Fletcher, with the Scotland international still a couple of weeks away from a return following an illness.
With a virtually fully-fit squad from which to select, there is intense competition for places within the United ranks - with Rafael, Paul Scholes and Antonio Valencia all pushing for recalls.
