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Richards claims Utd are running scared of City

Micah Richards believes Manchester City are on the up © PA Photos

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Manchester City defender Micah Richards believes Manchester United are now scared of their rivals, as the two teams prepare for their first derby of the season at Old Trafford on Sunday.

City have spent much of recent memory in the shadow of United, with a banner hanging at United's home for a number of years gleefully recording how long it had been since City last won a major trophy.

But that banner had to come down at the end of last season after Roberto Mancini's side won the FA Cup - beating United in the semi-final - and, with City currently top of the Premier League, Richards believes the balance of power in Manchester is tipping towards the blue half.

"United now know, much as they won't say it, that we are a genuine threat to them," the 23-year-old defender told the Manchester Evening News. "To get that banner down is quality - we have got the last laugh.

"We are not going out and saying we will win this game or that game, but they call us the noisy neighbours. I think they're a bit frightened."

Richards believes part of that is down to City's changing mental approach - after a huge amount of financial investment, the current squad believe they are the equal of their more illustrious rivals.

"It used to be the case that we went to United and got battered every time but in the last year or two we have gone to United and sometimes looked the better team, on their own patch, so it shows how far we have come in a short space of time," he said.

"We have improved a lot and want the ball down to play - in those days it was about getting 11 men behind the ball and defending, and if we got a chance we had to take it. That's what we did.

"If you speak to Mancini he wants to go there and win. People talked about us last season being boring and negative, but if you watch us now we are completely the opposite."

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