Enzo Maresca banking on Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez villainy for Man City's Old Trafford 'war game' image
Enzo Maresca's first brush with the fired-up passions of a derby match in English football is one he's never forgotten.
The Manchester City manager leads his team in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford for the first time on Sunday, and a nomadic playing career that took the Italian to England, Spain and Greece means he is well-versed in what happens when local passions are on the line.
"I can promise you the worst one is Olympiacos vs. Panathinaikos," he beamed, recalling the famously brutal all-Athens showdown, which is known with earned bombast as the Derby of the Eternal Enemies.
"That was very hot. But I was in Juventus, with Torino; Sevilla with Betis. They are all special games."
MORE: Which Fernandez are Man City getting? Enzo more Chelsea box-crasher than River Plate playmaker on Etihad debut
After a youth career in his homeland with AC Milan and Cagliari, Maesca landed in England's Football League as an 18-year-old, joining West Brom.
On October 3, 1999, he came off the bench to replace ex-Manchester City left-back Jason van Blerk in the Black Country derby, with West Brom 1-0 down away to sworn enemies Wolves.
"Oh, fantastic, '99," he said, after being reminded of a derby debut where Albion salvaged a point through Matt Carbon's 76th-minute header. "That derby was a bit... now we go in that direction again. That derby was set-pieces, throw-ins inside the box, duels, battle. It's different. Now there are some games that are quite similar. They are nice games; I want these games because I like them. They are intense; they are war games."
The onus for City will be to stop the 199th Manchester derby becoming that sort of back-and–forth contest. Maresca's men were top of the fledgling Premier League table heading into the weekend after three wins from three and claimed an impressive 2-0 Champions League victory in Porto, but he is under no illusions over the threat carried by United on their home patch.
"It's an important game because it's a test to be ourselves. It's quite clear that they are very dangerous; they don't need many passes," he said. "They are quite direct when they recover the ball. They are the team in the Premier League at the moment who plays the most balls in behind. It's clear that they recover the ball and contact in behind, so we need to be careful in terms of transitions, to cover the space in behind."
Tasked with covering that space and dictating the terms of the game will be two or three players — depending on Maresca's starting lineup — who will make their Manchester derby debuts.
Why Maresca says $435m midfield must not be judged on cost
Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi have arrived for a combined $435 million this summer, following the departures of club greats Rodri and Bernardo Silva, along with Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez.
Anderson has impressed after being handed the daunting task of replacing Rodri at the base of the City midfield, bringing physicality and bite out of possession and making a league-high 44 line-breaking passes,14 more than any other player through three matches (as per Gradient Sports). He was rested from the start in Porto, with Morocco teenager Bouaddi playing with a poise beyond his years. Maresca's old Chelsea lieutenant Fernandez comes with ample big-game experience at the highest level, and all indications behind the scenes are of the Argentina star settling in nicely into life in Manchester after a protracted transfer saga.
Argentina's Enzo Fernandez in action with England's Elliot Anderson 071526
United will also roll out their new midfield at the weekend, with Youri Tielemans likely to start alongside the resurgent Kobbie Mainoo. Andrey Santos is another player familiar to Maresca from their time at Chelsea, while fellow new signing, Carlos Baleba, will not be available due to injury.
"I think we needed midfielders. I don't pay much attention about the price because I don't pay the money," Maresca said. "It's more about good players. The ones who arrived here and the ones who joined Manchester United are top players. This is the more important thing than how much the club paid for them. I don't think it's correct to judge players based on how much we pay because the market now is crazy.
"It's the day-by-day that defines the relationship between them. They are working well. We saw the other day [at Porto] with Ayyoub and Enzo; the game before, we started Enzo and Elliot. It's important when we decide which players are going to start that they are ready and then, if we need them from the bench, they are going to be ready."
Maresca noted Fernandez's qualities when it comes to attacking the box, and he would clearly relish a first City goal at a moment of maximum irritation. Rayan Cherki is favourite to start as the No. 10 for the visitors, but it's not impossible that Maresca will select all three of his new midfield recruits and push Fernandez furthest forward.
Whatever the makeup of the City engine room, Anderson has suggested that having Erling Haaland playing ahead of them defines their roles to a greater degree than it did for Guardiola's midfielders.
"He's been brilliant with me. He's a really top guy. We have a responsibility to provide chances for him," the former Newcastle United youngster said. "And my first thought at the minute when I receive the ball is, 'Where's Erling?'. And I think that's the best thought to have in your mind. Obviously, he's a really dangerous goal-scorer, and if we can provide him with some good passes and some good chances then he'll be really happy."
Erling Haaland
'Man City are the kings of Manchester'
Anderson is also likely to come in for some spicy Old Trafford treatment. United were credited with an interest in the England international while he was at Nottingham Forest, but City won the day with a $156.7m deal that briefly made him the most expensive British player in history before Chelsea swooped for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.
In his first interview with City's in-house media channel, Anderson dubbed his new club "the kings of Manchester", something that was always likely to irk supporters of the 20-time champions of England across town.
"Probably the reason why Elliot said that is he grew up in the last 15 years when Manchester City was unbelievable," Maresca pointed out, and it's worth noting Anderson was 10 years old the last time United won the Premier League 2012-13; their glory years are something he can learn about through Netflix documentaries.
"I think it's normal that Elliot said that. Then, if you go back, it's a different picture."
At Old Trafford on Sunday, a different picture awaits Maresca to the one he saw at Molineux 27 years ago, but one that, in many respects, will feel very familiar.