The England midfielder made his first appearance of 2014/15 in United’s derby loss to noisy neighbours Manchester City on Sunday, having only just returned from a lengthy spell on the side-lines.

Come derby day and the whole city is abuzz with red and blue, with excited chatter, with bitten fingernails. It is a day when Manchester looks only to Manchester, as does the world, yet this most Mancunian of fixtures has lost quite a considerable amount of its Mancunian blood.

The 20-times league champions head into the vital match on the back of a four-match unbeaten run, while City have lost their last two.

City have stuttered in recent weeks, first throwing away a 2-0 lead against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League before two domestic defeats on the bounce, to West Ham in the league and Newcastle in the Capital One Cup – losing their League Cup crown in the process.

Manchester United are yet to get fans purring this season and life-long fan Alwyn Payne is commemorating the team’s poor form with a series of animal-inspired images of the new boss.

Ahead of Manchester derby, MM analyse City and United players head to head

United continued their four-match unbeaten streak thanks to Van Persie’s 93rd minute leveller against José Mourinho’s title favourites at Old Trafford on Sunday to remain 10 points behind the leaders

Dutch manager Van Gaal labelling last week’s 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns United’s best performance of the season will not have inspired confidence ahead of a tough month, starting with Chelsea on Sunday

Argentine Di Maria has been Dutch manager Louis van Gaal’s star player so far this season and his fitness will be crucial as United head into a potentially season-defining month

Michael Carrick is aiming to make his first Manchester United appearance of the season in the coming weeks after recovering from injury.

José Mourinho’s high-flying Blues will visit Old Trafford on Sunday in what promises to be a thrilling encounter