In the last couple of seasons, it has been Manchester United who head into the derby with fierce rivals Manchester City as the underdogs.
The emergence of City as title contenders, and eventual winners, has added extra meaning to the fixture in recent seasons, but it used to be a very different story.
On this day 10 years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United side tasted victory in the derby once again at the home of their cross-city rivals, who were managed by Kevin Keegan at the time.
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In a season which saw Chelsea dominate under Jose Mourinho on the way to winning the Premier League title, United were unable to stop the charge of the West Londoners, but they kept the battle alive with a win at the City of Manchester Stadium.
The first half was a tight affair as both sides struggled to find their form in the opening exchanges.
Chances were difficult to come by for the visitors, but their patient build-up play did create one opportunity for Paul Scholes, who headed over from a promising position.
Shaun Wright-Phillips appeared to be the only player capable of forcing a breakthrough in the first half, and his clever piece of skill to beat Wes Brown on the wing should have put City ahead.
A superb turn of pace took Wright-Phillips past Brown and allowed him to pick out Steve McManaman, but he could only fire wide from inside the box.
The half-time interval had an impact on United as Ferguson's side returned for the second half with added urgency to their play in the final third of the pitch.
Gary Neville found space on the right wing to deliver an inviting cross to Wayne Rooney, who kept his composure in the box to convert via a deflection off Richard Dunne.
There was doubt that the goal belonged to Rooney, but the second was certainly a gift as Dunne put another nail into the City coffin.
Rooney's cross into the box didn't appear to be on course to cause problems for the home defence before Dunne miscued a clearance past a helpless David James.
City had chances to get back into the game as Robbie Fowler sliced wide from close range before Roy Carroll made a fine save to deny Kiki Musampa.
However, it was United who finished the stronger of the two sides as substitute Ryan Giggs struck the post in the closing stages.
Man City: James, Mills (B. Wright-Phillips), Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, S. Wright-Phillips, Barton (Macken), Sibierski, McManaman, Musampa, Fowler
Man Utd: Carroll, G. Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, O'Shea (Ronaldo), Keane, Fortune, Fletcher (Giggs), Rooney, Scholes (P. Neville)
