Danny Higginbotham admits games don't come any bigger than facing European Champions Manchester United on their own soil.

City make the trip to Old Trafford this Saturday looking to cause the biggest upset of the season, and it's a game the former United trainee says is very special.

"To be able to go and play at Old Trafford, in front of such a large crowd, at a big stadium, against your boyhood team, it doesn't get much better than that," he told manutd.com.

"But at the end of the day it's a football match, and you can't let sentiment get in the way of that.

"I still support United. I've had a few good days with decent results, but I've had some hammerings there too.

"I believe they can win the league again this year and the Champions League, they're that good."

The defender who re-joined the Potters from Sunderland in the summer recalls a memorable occasion when playing for Derby, and insists anything can happen on the day.

"When I first went back to United with Derby it was special," he smiles.

"It was the next-to-last game of the season and we needed a win to stay up, and we won 1-0.

"Everybody was celebrating on the day because we'd stayed up and United had already won the league.

"No one expects us to get anything out of the game, but they said that against Arsenal and Liverpool, so let's see what happens."