ENGLISH FA CUP SEMI-FINAL Manchester City v Manchester Utd:ALEX FERGUSON believes Manchester City's desperation for a first major trophy in 35 years could prove decisive at Wembley if Manchester United capitalise on their greater experience of the big occasion.

United enter the FA Cup semi-final without the suspended Wayne Rooney but pursing a repeat of their Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble of 1999, while City face another contest with Tottenham Hotspur to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.

Ferguson was careful to avoid inflaming local hostilities ahead of a crucial derby in the capital, claiming City’s owners “were correct” to invest in “big plans” and highlighting the individual experience in Roberto Mancini’s squad.

However, the United manager believes the Wembley factor, and City’s lack of trophies, could be a factor in the semi-final.

“It’s possible,” Ferguson said. “But I don’t know the mental side of their players because I’ve not worked with any of them apart from Tevez of course. I know my own players and, obviously, they have been used to big-game situations many times. We don’t have to conquer that.

“It can be very difficult to block out the occasion, simply because sometimes the occasion overrides everything else. And Wembley is an occasion stadium. When you go there it’s for an important reason and that can affect some players. All we can do is prepare our players properly, make sure the information you give them is fine, and trust that their own temperament and beliefs come into it.”

Dimitar Berbatov is expected to return to the United starting line-up in the absence of Rooney, and Ferguson said the outstanding form of Javier Hernandez has given him no option but to leave the Premier League’s leading goalscorer on the bench recently.

“It’s unfortunate for Dimitar because he’s a fantastic player, but the reasons are obvious,” the United manager said. “The emergence of Hernandez in the last couple of months has been startling. He’s improving all the time, he’s getting stronger and it’s very difficult to leave a player out when he hits that kind of form.

Mancini, meanwhile, wants to build a dynasty to match the trophy-gathering machine Ferguson has created.

Despite a general air of negativity that has attached itself to City for much of the season, they head into the game still on track to match pre-season expectations.

Mancini is supremely confident about securing the top-four finish in the Premier League demanded by super-rich owner Sheikh Mansour, while an end to that much-debated 35-year trophy drought is still in reach.

At Wembley, City are aiming to take a significant stride towards that objective.

The fact United stand in their way merely works as a useful tool for Mancini to point out his overall aims for the Eastlands outfit.

“I have respect for Manchester United because they have won everything for many years,” said the Italian. “To begin with, they won a single trophy after a long time with nothing. Now we are in the same position.

“We can go on to do what United have done. We have a chance tomorrow and for this we should be happy.”

Ferguson has never spoken about whether his long hunt for trophies and titles would be tolerated in the modern game – Mancini is certain it would not.

“It took Ferguson seven years to win the league,” he observed. “Today is very different from 25 years ago. Today if you are a manager who wins nothing for six or seven years, it is difficult. After 15 months I am very happy in my job because I know how difficult it is to build a team to win trophies.”

United denied City in last season’s Carling Cup semi-final and now they are intent on doing it again.

City talisman Carlos Tevez is missing with a hamstring injury.

Mancini will take a gamble with Micah Richards, who will bring solidity to a defence that performed so badly at Liverpool on Monday. So much depends upon the performances of key men David Silva and Yaya Toure, plus the impact made by what combination of Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko Mancini opts to use.

• Owen Hargreaves is facing a premature end to his career after Ferguson revealed the Manchester United midfielder will not play again this season due to a shoulder injury.

Guardian Service