English League cup, semi finals, 1st leg Chelsea v Manchester United It took Jose Mourinho exactly 90 minutes to light Alex Ferguson's fuse.

At the end of the first meeting between FC Porto and Manchester United in last season's European Cup, after Mourinho's side had won the match and Roy Keane had been sent off, the United manager pointedly ignored his rival's outstretched hand as he rushed down the tunnel at the Estadio do Dragao.

Afterwards the Portuguese coach laced compassion with poison in lethal proportions. "I can understand him being a little sad," Mourinho said, "because his team were clearly dominated by a team who have maybe 10 per cent of his budget."

We were witnessing the first shots in a rivalry that currently grips English football, and which will be resumed tonight at Stamford Bridge when United arrive to tackle Mourinho's Chelsea in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

Now, of course, the contest is a three-way one, with Mourinho joining Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in a struggle for supremacy that encompasses four competitions and countless acres of newsprint.

No meeting between any two of these three managers is without a greater significance. Victory tonight will constitute an important blow in the psychological battle between these proud, ambitious and ferociously competitive men.

What was so impressive about Mourinho last February, however, was that he followed up his remarks about Ferguson with generous praise for United's players.

"We were better than them, but they are still the best players in the world," he continued. "We go to Old Trafford with a lot of happiness, but knowing they are a wonderful team who play wonderful attacking football."

That those qualities were not enough to see United through to the quarter-finals of the European Cup was the cause of further joy for Mourinho and more frustration for Ferguson, whose side also lost to Chelsea six months later in the next meeting between the two coaches.

A fourth encounter, followed by a fifth in the return leg at Old Trafford in two weeks' time, will be seen as the opportunity to adjust the record and balance of power. And yet, despite Mourinho's response to Ferguson's snub last year, Chelsea's new manager has managed to stay above the continuing exchange of insults between his two chief rivals.

"I think it's worked to his advantage," Howard Wilkinson, the last English-born manager to win the English championship, said. "One's been firing arrows from the top of one hill, the other's been doing the same from the other hill, and Mourinho's crept up the valley. So far he's got away with it. Perhaps he'll get dragged in eventually. But he's got a very clear idea of who he is and what he's good at, and of what works and what doesn't."

It was in Monaco, two days after the European Cup final, that Mourinho would meet Roman Abramovich to discuss his future as Chelsea's manager. Since then a record of 17 wins, four draws and a single defeat in the Premiership has given his team a lead of seven points over Arsenal and 11 over United, while the nation has come to recognise that there is more to him than the self-created image of a "special one" with a wardrobe full of cool overcoats.

The graciousness he extends towards defeated opponents, such as Scunthorpe in last Saturday's FA Cup tie, has made almost as big an impression as the efficiency of his team's play.

"The thing I like about him is that he seems to be a methodical organiser," observes Wilkinson, "a studious person who doesn't leave much to chance and who prepares his players well. When you're working at that level, you're dealing with players who can recognise bullshit when they hear it. He seems to command their respect through his knowledge."

One measure of that respect is the scarcity of complaints from within a large playing staff, although Geremi yesterday broke ranks to express dissatisfaction with a role that has given him only four starts this season.

Chelsea insist they will resist attempts by Geremi to leave Stamford Bridge for Middlesbrough during the transfer window.

The Cameroon midfielder has been frustrated by his limited first-team opportunities this season and is attracted by the prospect of a return to the Riverside Stadium.

Geremi said: "I am not satisfied at Chelsea. Mourinho is not giving me opportunities and I don't like to be on the bench. I would prefer to leave."

However, Mourinho's assistant Steve Clarke replied: "We want to keep everyone here, that is why we have the squad that we have. We have a lot of difficult matches between now and the end of the season and we will need everybody here."

Joe Cole, on the other hand, appears to have accepted Mourinho's insistence that he must spend time on the bench, watching and learning.

Although what he calls his "methodology" is unchanging, Mourinho himself recognises the different demands of the English game. "Here I am a manager, not just a coach," he told an Italian newspaper last week when he confirmed that his ambitions include running a top Serie A club and managing Portugal's national team.

Former Leeds manager Wilkinson added: "I think he's got a pragmatic approach which takes some of the mystery out of the whole business at a time when there's an increasing amount of bullshit and black magic around to confuse people. When he says his team are going to win a match, it's because he's looked into it."

Now his rivals can only hang on and hope for the methodology to falter and the composure to crack.

He is without the suspended Arjen Robben for tonight's game. The home side will also be missing defenders Robert Huth (ankle) and Ricardo Carvalho (broken toe) along with Scott Parker (broken foot).

Striker Mateja Kezman is a doubt after he collected a minor ankle knock in the FA Cup win over Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Frank Lampard is available after suspension and Mourinho is likely to recall Claude Makelele, Petr Cech and Damien Duff after resting them on Saturday. New signing Jiri Jarosik is also in the squad but Wayne Bridge is doubtful with a virus.

John O'Shea and Quinton Fortune will return to United's starting line-up after injuries.Louis Saha is likely to be on the bench, with Wayne Rooney a probable starter after completing a three-match suspension.