MANCHESTER, England — It is what Gary Neville sees from the roof terrace of his hotel that gives him a sense that something is happening. Not the immediate view to his right of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand at Old Trafford, with the words “Manchester United” — the club Neville supported, represented and captained — emblazoned in neon red. Neville points, instead, to the view on his distant left.

“There are cranes,” Neville said, scanning the skyline of Manchester and Salford, sister cities so contiguous that their boundaries have melted. “When you see cranes, you know that means things are moving. Now, when I look out, I see a lot of cranes. The city feels alive.”

This weekend, of course, it is positively pulsing. Hotel Football, the stylish establishment Neville and several of his former United teammates opened across the street from Old Trafford last year, is sold out. In fact, there are just a handful of rooms remaining across the city. Tens of thousands of people have descended on Manchester for Saturday’s meeting of Manchester United and Manchester City.