Manchester City v Manchester United – live! | Barry Glendenning - The Guardian

Carlos Tevez speaks

In an interview that has provoked much mirth among football fans the length and breadth of the country, Carlos Tevez has told the Manchester Evening News that he hopes to stay at Manchester City because he wants to "work hard and win things" because "that's all that matters to me as a player and a person".

In response to misguided cynics who suggest his sole motivation for moving to City was financial, Tevez was happy to set the record straight. "It was the project and the dream that made me come to City in the first place," he revealed. "I've been here since the start of that project and I share the same vision as Sheikh Mansour." According to Danny Taylor, of this parish, Tevez made similar noises in an interview conducted with the club's website in December 2010. Afterwards it transpired he'd handed in a transfer request a few days previously.

Some match pointers

• City scored six goals from just seven shots on target in their 6-1 win at Old Trafford earlier this season

• United have caught an opponent offside fewer times (36) than any other side; City are in second place with 39

• City have taken 77 from a possible 81 points in their last 27 top-flight home matches

• Wayne Rooney has committed the most without receiving a yellow card (24) in the division

• No Premier League team has ever won a return fixture after losing by five or more goals in the initial encounter

• There have been six red cards in Premier League meetings between these sides, and five of them have been shown to United players

Hello there

As the great Irish folk singer Christy Moore once said, how's it going there everybody, you're very welcome to this evening's cabaret. We've a potential thriller/woefully damp squib (delete according to half-full/emptiness of your glass) in store; a Manchester derby some martyrs to hyperbole are describing as the most important Premier League match ever played. The result will almost certainly go a long way towards determining the outcome of this year's Premier League title race, while simultaneously signalling a seismic shift in the English football landscape. Considering the amount of money they've spent in such a short space of time, it's only a matter of when, not if, Manchester City win the title, but their city rivals United will be ruthless in their determination to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.

The build-up to this evening's game has been relentless and this excellent preview piece by our chief football writer Danny Taylor will tell you all you need to know about the relationship between two clubs who, for all their cross-city sniping at each other down the years, haven't actually played many matches with anything more important than local bragging rights at stake. Tonight, both sides the stakes could hardly be higher, with the Premier League title on the line and both clubs very much in charge of their own destiny. A win or draw for Manchester United would leave them sin a seemingly unassailable position with just two games left to play, while victory for Manchester City will bring them level on points with their rivals, but with a crucially significant advantage in the form of their superior goal difference.

We'll bring you all the pre-match news and comment from 7pm, but in the meantime, why not pass the time by perusing our gallery of Manchester derbies down through the years, reading our Manchester correspondent Jamie Jackson's thoughts on how a calmer, more mature Wayne Rooney has put his side on the verge of their 20th title, or digesting Roberto Mancin's latest comments about howe the title race is so over, he's not sure Manchester City will even bother turning up for tonight's fixture.

Alternatively, you could read this preview of the tactics likely to be employed by both managers for tonight's ding-dong at the Etihad Stadium penned by Michael Cox of Zonal Marking fame, or take a moment to gaze at this relaxing picture of a peculiar looking neutral snoozing in a deckchair ahead of the big match while wearing Manchester City coloured Converse trainers and a Manchester United coloured straw hat.

Woof!