Mancini eyes Manchester derby win to seal Wembley final

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has called on his side to "change history" as they take on Manchester United for a Carling Cup final place.

Mancini won the Coppa Italia four times while managing in Serie A

City lead 2-1 going into Wednesday's semi-final, second leg at Old Trafford after a heated first game where Carlos Tevez and Gary Neville made headlines.

Security will be tight for the match and both managers have called for calm.

"We must change the history of this club," said Mancini as City aim to make their first major cup final since 1981.

Meanwhile, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been buoyed by the form of Wayne Rooney, who scored all four goals in Saturday's Premier League win over Hull and has reiterated his desire to stay at the club.

"Wayne is in such great form, there are not many matching him," stated Ferguson.

Defender Rio Ferdinand will be available to play if he chooses to appeal against a violent conduct charge after he appeared to strike Hull forward Craig Fagan in the game at the weekend.

If Ferdinand accepts the Football Association charge, he will begin an immediate three-match ban, while any appeal would be heard on Thursday.

Ahead of the second leg, police made three further arrests on Wednesday morning in connection with trouble at the first match.

City will be backed by 9,000 supporters at Old Trafford and Mancini, who took over from Mark Hughes at Eastlands in December, wants his players to keep cool in what promises to be a challenging atmosphere.

Tevez turned to the United bench as he celebrated a double against his former club in the first leg.

The Argentine striker - along with former team-mate Neville - was warned by the FA about his future behaviour and English football's governing body and the police have reminded both managers of their responsibilities ahead of the crunch clash.

Neville appeared to make a one-fingered gesture from the touchline in the first leg after Tevez scored an equaliser from the penalty spot.

Tevez then called the English defender a "boot-licker" and a "moron" in a radio interview following the defender's comments about the former West Ham player before the first leg.

Eighteen arrests were made at Eastlands as the heated atmosphere spread into the crowd and an extra 75 police officers have been drafted in for the match at Old Trafford.

However, Ferguson is confident the game will pass without trouble despite the lure of a Wembley final place.

"We have great players who play to the right rules of the game," he added.

"We have never had any issues in big games. Look at the record. I am not worried about it."

Manchester City's last major cup final was the 1981 FA Cup - an encounter that resulted in a famous replay where Steve Mackenzie scored a 30-yard volley before Ricky Villa's memorable mazy run helped earn a 3-2 win for Tottenham.

The last big trophy for City came in 1976 when a spectacular overhead kick from Dennis Tueart sealed a 2-1 League Cup final triumph over Newcastle.

Mancini enthused: "We want to change the history. The players are passionate about it but we must start somewhere and it is important to get to that first final."

Supporters of both clubs are being advised to arrive as early as possible because of extra security measures at Old Trafford.

Ferguson has called for United fans to 'rise to the occasion'.

"I don't think I even have to ask the fans to turn up the volume. It will just happen," he says in his United Review programme notes.

Source: http://www.manutd-blog.com

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