You BetMourinho v Guardiola: Pep holds the upper hand, but can Jose’s United defence snuff out a City attack minus Sergio Aguero?

The English Premier League is back with a bang on Saturday night with a red-hot Manchester derby and a host of new players, signed just before the transfer window closed, in action.

The Manchester derby pits Jose Mourinho against Pep Guardiola for the first time in English football and it is a potentially incendiary encounter judging by their verbal and sometimes physical battles in Spain’s El Clasico matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

It is a moot point whether the Manchester derby is as big as El Clasico in the overall picture of world football, but right now it is all that matters for Mourinho and Guardiola and the result will carry at least psychological significance as their respective teams try to re-establish themselves as title winners.

The two managers went head-to-head for two seasons in Spain and there is no doubt Guardiola held the upper hand, with five wins, five draws and only one defeat in their final clash in 90 minutes.

At the time Barcelona were clearly the best team in Spain and, while the results in their favour were not that surprising, Mourinho dragged Real closer to their great rivals.

This time the two managers start on a more even footing and Mourinho may feel this is the first real opportunity to prove his tactical mastery over his younger rival.