The two sides of Manchester were action in the early hours of this morning with City edging to a victory over Mexicans Club America on penalties, while United routed an MLS All Starts XI by a 5-2 margin.

Alex Ferguson’s side were one of only two Premier League clubs who came away with wins in 90 minutes from yesterday’s games, as both Bolton and Blackburn suffered setbacks…

Man City fans got a first look at Yaya Toure in midfield and he did enough to show that his presence and prompting will be a major factor next season. Toure was withdrawn on the hour-mark as if to emphasise the competition for places throughout Mancini’s lineup.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Adam Johnson are two players who are likely to feel that competition more than most and it was the pair who combined to earn City’s goal. Johnson felled for a spot-kick with Adeabyor tucked away.

Roberto Mancini appeared to test an array of formations with a fluid City shifting from a 4-1-2-2-1 to 4-3-3, 3-5-2 and a 4-5-1 throughout the game. Not surprisingly, with so many riches at his disposal, he has a wealth of tactical options available to him. As a result Fantasy Managers remain cautious of investment in this City squad with the threat of rotation so rife.

The goalkeeping situation at City typifies matters – Shay Given returned from injury in this game to replace Joe Hart at half-time; right now we can’t be sure just which of those two will earn the number one jersey and bring in 30+ starts next term.

United’s victory saw a first goal for Mexican striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, he was joined on the scoresheet by Federico Macheda (2), Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverley. While United may not have rivalled City in the transfer market this Summer, those names clearly illustrate that Ferguson has some strength in depth with some emerging talent at his disposal.

Ferguson went with Gabriel Obertan and Nani in the wide roles with Ryan Giggs supporting Macheda up front. John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher were given the central midfield roles. The latter earned two assists on the night, while Obertan picked up an injury that saw him withdrawn in the first-half.

Blackburn slipped to a 2-1 defeat to AEK Athens in Sydney with Phil Jones grabbing a late goal which Rovers were unable to build on. Jones was the standout performer in Sam Allardyce’s side, commanding at the back whilst lending his sizeable frame to the forward line late on as Rovers chased the game. Jones remains the cheapest viable Fantasy option in the Rovers backline and, should he hold down a starting role, would be a good bet for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) bonus having caught the eye in his handful of appearances last season.

As another sidenote, Big Sam seems to be persevering with one up front with David Dunn seemingly given the license to support from midfield. That might be due to the fact that Blackburn’s options up front are minimal right now, although Dunn’s role is clearly worth monitoring as we near the season kick-off.

Lancashire rivals Bolton suffered a wake-up call on their return from their US tour, suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Oldham. Martin Petrov again posed the biggest threat for Owen Coyle’s side and was only denied a late consolation by the woodwork. Significantly the Bulgarian continued to demonstrate his fitness by completing 90 minutes here, along with Gary Cahill, Zat Knight, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Paul Robinson. Chung-Yong Lee, back after an extended break, saw his first action of the pre-season and looked lively enough. He along with Petrov and Taylor are now set to compete for the wide roles with Taylor facing a real battle to maintain his starting role.

Finally Avram Grant continued his impressive start at the helm at Upton Park with West Ham maintaining their 100% pre-season,, seeing off MK Dons by a 2-0 scoreline. Julien Faubert and Carlton Cole grabbed the Hammers goals – Cole appeared after the hour-mark to claim his third strike of the summer. He also earned the assist for Faubert’s goal, issuing a reminder to Fantasy Managers that, should he remain with West Ham, he could flourish under Grant and offer value as a mid-price option up front.

As always you can refer to our Pre-Season Form guide for more details on these games – including full team lineups.