A massive game at this early stage, with the Premier League's top 2 sides facing off in the Manchester Derby. Man CIty are currently top, but with the home advantage of Old Trafford Man Utd will be looking to put their neighbours back in their place.
Manchester United is reputed to be the most popular football club in the world, with the highest average home attendance in Europe. The club's worldwide fan base includes more than 200 officially recognised branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC), in at least 24 countries. The club takes advantage of this support through its worldwide summer tours. Accountancy firm and sports industry consultants Deloitte estimate that Manchester United has 75 million fans worldwide, while other estimates put this figure closer to 333 million.
Supporters are represented by two independent bodies; the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMUSA), which maintains close links to the club through the MUFC Fans Forum, and the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST). After the Glazer family's takeover in 2005, a group of fans formed a splinter club, F.C. United of Manchester. The West Stand of Old Trafford, the "Stretford End", is the home end and the traditional source of the club's most vocal support. Manchester United has rivalries with four clubs: Arsenal, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Manchester City, against whom they contest the Manchester derby.
