The rivalry with Liverpool has arguably grown among City fans after five years of titanic title battles.
But Rosler, who played and scored in several clashes with United, says it remains one of the Premier League’s biggest games.
“The derby was the game of the year when I was at City, but now there is the Premier League title plus the Champion s League, so the landscape has shifted somewhat,” said Rosler, now manager at Malmo.
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“When we played back then, it was the game everyone looked forward to – the highlight of the year – and there was a real buzz about the place for weeks.
“There were less games back then and we looked forward to the Manchester derby for weeks – and you definitely didn’t want to miss them as a player.
“Over the years from our club, everyone has got used to winning and every year, more silverware is arriving and that’s natural.
“United are a little bit hot and cold at the moment – as you saw against Spurs in midweek when they played very well.
“They have youth and they have pace and they are not scared. On their day, they can have a real go, so I think we need to control the game, keep the ball and take the edge off their game by having lots of possession.
“The organisation when we have the ball in their half is important because we have to stop their counter-attacks, because they are a threat on the break with the pace they have up front.
“In simple terms, the more we have the ball, the more chance we have of winning the game.”
And is the former cult City hero going to be watching?
“We (Malmo) are in Marbella at a training camp ahead of our final Europa League group game against FC Copenhagen, hoping we can win that game and progress to the knockout stages.
“I will watch it on TV and be cheering the Blues on and of course, in Malmo, I fortunate enough to be managing a team in sky blue - so I suppose it was always my destiny!”
