The 36-year-old midfielder knows it's unlikely Sir Alex Ferguson's side can eclipse the Blue Moon for ever, but he will do his utmost to ensure City do not take a step closer to that long-awaited trophy at Manchester United's expense.
Making his point: Scholes believes Arsenal and Chelsea are bigger rivals for United than neighbours City
Not this time. Because as long as City remain empty-handed, Scholes insists they are not a serious threat.
In a withering assessment of his opponents, Scholes said: 'When they're fourth or fifth, or wherever they are in the League, I don't think they can be classed as a main rival.
'Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea. I think City are just a rival because of where they are - Liverpool are the same.
'Are they more of a threat? Probably, because of the money that they've spent on players. They've gone up a level and it's probably made us concentrate a little bit more than we normally would.
'Because they haven't been as big a club as us, it's the underdog thing in that there's never been much pressure on them going into derby games. It was a no-win game for us.
They're nothing without Carlos: Scholes claims City will struggle without Tevez on Saturday
'We were going into derbies expecting them to win them. It didn't always pan out that way, but since they've come into the money, it does give you a little bit more of an edge.
'You hate losing against anybody, but City? It's bad. Painful. I remember losing 3-1 at Maine Road and it was horrible.
'We probably won't hear the last of it if we lose, especially if they go on to win the Cup. It's an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. It's massive. 'It's the biggest game we've had against City for a while. Whoever loses will be devastated.'
Since City came under Abu Dhabi rule, United have won six and drawn one of eight derbies. Their only defeat came in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.
Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney broke City's hearts with injury-time winners last season and Scholes did it again with his seventh career goal against the neighbours. Only Eric Cantona and Bobby Charlton have scored more in the post-war era.
'It was perfect,' recalls Scholes. 'It was a major highlight of my career, one of the best things I've ever done. To score in a Manchester derby is brilliant anyway, but to score a winning goal in the third minute of injury-time was special.
Derby delight: Scholes lauded last season's late strike against Man City as one of the highlights of his career
'They'll obviously be p****d off that they've only managed to beat us once, and that was a first leg. 'We've nicked the games in the last minutes. Wayne also did it with his unbelievable goal in the League this season and City were definitely unlucky that day.
'Maybe that's the difference. We have a belief that we can beat anybody. I'm not sure City have that.'
City spent nearly ?130million last summer, and ?27m on Edin Dzeko in January, whereas traditional big-spenders United paid out little more than ?20m for Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Bebe.
Yet Scholes believes Ferguson's squad will miss the suspended Rooney less than their opponents will miss their captain and top scorer Carlos Tevez.
'City's spending isn't our problem,' he said. 'That's all down to the manager. He's not going to go buying people for ?30-40m because they could be inflated prices brought on by City's spending.
'Smalling was ?10m and he has been a revelation along with Hernandez. They cost relative peanuts.
'Without Wayne, we can bring in our top scorer, Dimitar Berbatov. What City can do, I'm not so sure. Tevez is definitely their talisman.'
Scholes will be 37 in November and has not decided whether he will sign a one-year deal or retire. Doubts over his participation in United's US tour in July and plans for a summer testimonial hint at the latter for a player who has struggled with not being a regular starter.
'It's very difficult to accept but the time comes when you know you can't,' he said. 'I've got these games to think about now and I'll decide from there. But when I finish here, that will be it.'
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Source: Daily Mail
Source: Daily Mail