The Manchester derby is back! On Sunday afternoon Ralf Rangnick takes his team across the city to take on Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions at the Etihad. Here is a look at what we could expect from this fixture.
Opposition
Manchester City come into this game unsurprisingly with near perfect form. The only slight blemish of late being the loss to Tottenham in the league, which brought the title race back alive. Other than that they have five wins in their last six. They are obviously sat atop the league table. Despite giving Liverpool hope of overtaking them, I would be quite surprised if they didn’t end up winning the league.
As much as Pep Guardiola can be known to overthink and over complicate things in bigger games. I can’t see him doing that here with the line-up. He will no doubt stick with the 4-3-3 formation starting from Ederson in goal. A centre-back partnership of Laporte and Dias. With Cancelo at left-back. The absence of Kyle Walker at right-back in recent weeks means we could see John Stones line-up in that position. In the midfield we will most likely see Rodri alongside Gündogan and De Bruyne. As for the front three, they have lots of options but I think we will see Bernardo Silva alongside Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez.
Manchester United
After failing to walk away with all three points last week against Watford, Manchester United’s grasp on fourth place is beginning to slip. With teams beneath us having games in hand and the tough run of fixtures approaching the Red Devils, it looks more and more likely that we will not finish in the top four come the end of the season.
Whatever the consequences may be for the rest of the league if Man City were to lose at the weekend, Manchester United can’t afford to drop more points. And the fact is that we’ve actually had a decent record at the Etihad lately. The Red Devils have won their last three away matches against Manchester City. Hopefully, at the weekend Rangnick and his team can make that four.
Line-up
I can’t see Rangnick venturing away from the 4-3-3 formation that we have seen used so frequently lately. As usual, David de Gea will start in net, and no doubt his shot-stopping will need to be on top form with the firepower at City’s disposable. I would like to see Lindelöf partnering Varane at centre-back. With the pace of City’s forwards, I can’t see Harry Maguire being the right tool for the job here. With that in mind I would also go for Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right back. We have seen him thrive under the pressure of the one-on-one defensive situations that City will throw at us. I think Alex Telles will start at left-back to provide some balance in the back four and a little more attacking threat.
In the deeper midfield role, I think Matic could work well. However, I think it’s unlikely we are going to see him start. As such I would expect to see McTominay return to that role. With Pogba and Bruno alongside him there should be both the physicality and creativity to deal with City’s attack.
As for the front three. I think Jadon Sancho deserves another start on one wing. And no doubt, interchanging on the other wing, I would expect to see Anthony Elanga start in his first Manchester derby. Through the middle there doesn’t seem to be any other option than Cristiano Ronaldo. Frankly, there would be no better way to get him back to his goal-scoring habits, than a goal or two against Manchester City.
Prediction
I don’t like being too negative before a match, I don’t really see the point of it in all honesty. But I can’t see this being a good game for Manchester United. The way that City have been playing this season has been relentless and United have been so off the pace in loads of aspects. We saw that stark difference most vividly in the 2-0 loss earlier this season. Granted Rangnick has come in since then, and we look to be playing better football at times. But it doesn’t feel like enough to be on the same level as this City team. As bad as it feels to say it, a good result for United would probably be a draw. And that is exactly what I am predicting, a one all draw.