Sven-Göran Eriksson may rarely have got the better of Sir Alex Ferguson during their numerous run-ins when he was England head coach, but it was the Manchester United manager who came off worse the last and only time they shared a technical area.

Eriksson was in charge of Lazio when they beat United 1-0 in the European Super Cup in August 1999 and, as football’s most contrasting managers prepare to pit their wits again tomorrow, in the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derby for years, the Swede’s wish to repeat that feat with Manchester City is matched only by Ferguson’s desire to avenge a defeat that, on the surface at least, still appears to rankle.

Of course, there are more important reasons than revenge for why the United manager will want to put one over a man for whom he has struggled to contain his indifference. Defeat would leave United with only two points from their opening three matches, hardly the way in which Ferguson would have envisaged his team beginning the defence of their Barclays Premier League title, although, more galling may be the prospect of trailing City by seven points.

It is why Ferguson’s suggestion yesterday that there is more riding on the match for City than United did not quite pass muster. Sure, some City fans may even expect their team to collect all three points, such has been the optimism generated by back-to-back wins, but even against a United side missing Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, victory would be as much a surprise as a bonus.

For United, however, defeat would be unthinkable and doubly so for Ferguson, given that his opposite number is, after all, Eriksson. “It is still the biggest game of their season, where we have more challenges ahead,” Ferguson said, somewhat dismissively of City’s prospects this season. “But we want to win because supporters go to work on Monday morning and it is quite something to be getting the bragging rights until we meet again. No, you won’t change the derby feeling in the city.” Ferguson has seen off 12 City managers in his 21 years at Old Trafford and it is something that the wily Scot takes pride in. But, given the backing that Eriksson has from Thaksin Shina-watra, the billionaire former Prime Minister of Thailand, the suggestion from Ferguson yesterday was that the present holder of the poisoned chalice may be around for a while but the expectation on the Swede may be greater than on any of his predecessors.

“They have had a fantastic start and Sven will be hoping his luck holds for a good part of the season,” Ferguson said. “They have had a bagful of money and spent a lot of it and, no matter what people say, there will be an expectation around them.”

Eriksson has spent about £38 million and Ferguson believes that it is conceivable that, in the money stakes , City could be a “Northern Chelsea”.

He said: “In the long term, if you get enough money, Chelsea have proved you can break into the top four,” he said. “Time will tell, but maybe it is just the start of the buying. This guy [Thaksin] has got so much money – this is only a starting point.”

Ferguson received some good news before the Manchester derby when his horse, Broomielaw, won for the first time at Doncaster yesterday. Mind you, he has a fair way to go before recouping his outlay as the chestnut colt, which cost 190,000 guineas (about £199,500), collected a first prize of only £6,477. Ferguson was delighted, however, as Broomielaw, an odds-on favourite, had been off the track for four months after a minor injury. “This was just stage one of his comeback,” he said. Perhaps Ferguson will continue his own comeback at Eastlands tomorrow.

Sir Alex on Sven

— “They’ve had a fantastic start. Sven will be hoping his luck holds for a good part of the season.”

— “I don’t know much about him. He has good experience, an incredible CV. Maybe club football did suit him better.”

— “I’m not aware of the wine. If he gives it to me as a present, I’ll accept it, but I am not going to be sharing it with him. I’ll take it home.”