Incidentally if the end of that sentence is a surprise to you, look it up on YouTube. Evra and Park are best mates, and (when he was there), the pair of them formed the unlikeliest of friendly trinities with Carlos Tevez. A hilarious video exists of Jason having a birthday party with his two pals, culminating in a split lip. Seriously, it is worth a watch.
They now face upstart local rivals Man City in a local derby which has grown massively in terms of attention and ferocity in the last year or two. The game at Old Trafford last season with Michael Owen's famous 96th minute winner was one of the best games that the Premier League has seen in the past 5 years; and a seesaw Carling Cup semi final added more fuel to the fire. United actually scored 90+ minute winners in 3 of their 4 meetings with City last season and have therefore given the Sky Blues an added incentive to make this the game of their season.
Roberto Mancini will not be entirely happy with the start his team have made and, despite whatever he may claim, will know that a win against United and a strong sequence of wins to go into January may be the minimum requirement for him to avoid joining me in the world of unemployment. With Carlos Tevez back from injury, David Silva showing that he is beginning to adjust to English football, and Mario Balotelli potentially available pending an appeal; Mancini has cause to believe in the abilities within his own side. Added to this, the injury situation at Old Trafford will remove many of the key figures from the United line-up, and this could be the time for City to get a much coveted slice of revenge. City fans will consider this the one to win above all others; Mancini will recognise that as well as a huge morale boost, three points on Wednesday would see them draw level with their cross-city rivals - and also gain him some much needed UAE brownie points.
It would seem that whilst United have bragging rights, status, and recent history on their side, City will be relishing the challenge and may well be thinking this fixture has cropped up at a great time. I predict a score draw which will suit the reds more than the blues; but there's bound to be fireworks.
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Another team who have to live life in competition with a same city rival, Melbourne Heart are really clicking into gear now in the A League. The Heart currently sit 6th, level on points with rivals Melbourne Victory but with a game in hand. The runaway leader in this league is Brisbane Roar, who claimed a hugely impressive 4-0 win in a battle of 1st vs 2nd this week which has led to many to concede that they can't be stopped for the title. They have a Brazilian striker 'Reinaldo' who is basically the equivalent of Asda own brand cereal.
Not allowed to call them Coco Pops, instead you get 'Coco Puff's' or something nearly-but-not-quite the same. They taste ok, but you know they are not the real thing - the quality isn't quite there, but they are a bit cheaper. So Reinaldo is just Asda own brand Ronaldo. By the way the Coco Pops monkey is different in Australia, but that's another story.
The highlight of this weeks A-League action however had nothing to do with the goalscoring exploits of wannabe Ronnie, instead it was provided by Melbourne Victory defender Roddy Vargas. His own goal gave Gold Coast United a 1-0 win, and what a bloody goal it was.
Imagine a ball whipped in form the byline at a healthy speed, about a foot off the ground. Then picture a defender, perhaps 12 yards away from his goal, just inside his near post.
Now try and conceive of a scenario in which that defender could head the ball into his own net. Not just head it in, absolutely nail it with the top/side of his skull...leaving the keeper and all the watching seagulls with no chance.
'Rowdy' Roddy Vargas, look away now
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