This is it – this is the big one!
On Sunday afternoon, we welcome our city rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford for a Premier League derby that finds both teams in challenging situations, albeit for different reasons.
The clash sees City, sitting 5th in the table, desperate for points to keep their Champions League hopes alive, while United languish in 13th place amid a difficult season under Ruben Amorim.
Despite our league position, there’s reason for optimism as we’ve already secured a shock 2-1 victory at the Etihad earlier this season and remain unbeaten in our last three matches against our neighbours.
Manchester United Team News
We’ve had a big boost with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo returning to training after a two-month absence with a calf injury, though he’s unlikely to be ready for a full 90 minutes Mason Mount has a cameo against Forest and his energetic, intense pressing style could work well against the champions.
Defensive issues mount; Matthijs de Ligt is now a doubt after picking up an injury against Nottingham Forest, while Ayden Heaven, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw are all still unavailable.
Manager Ruben Amorim has important decisions to make across the pitch as he aims to become just the third manager ever to beat Pep Guardiola in three consecutive meetings, having already defeated City this season with both Sporting and United.
Manchester City Team News
City continue to battle an injury crisis with several key players sidelined.
Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland, Rodri and John Stones all remain unavailable, severely testing the depth of Guardiola’s squad during a crucial period of the season.
There is some positive news for them with defender Abdukodir Khusanov expected to return after being rested for the midweek win over Leicester City, but their weakened squad gives us a real opportunity.
Historical Context
We’re aiming to complete our first league double over City since the 2019-20 campaign and go four matches unbeaten against our rivals for the first time since February 2011.
Its a game that usually throws up drama, and often in our favour. Van Persie, Scholes, Owen, Rooney, Rashford, Diallo…..this clash has produced some memorable United moments.
The derby has seen a curious trend in recent years, with the away team winning 10 of the last 18 Premier League meetings; hopefully we can buck that trend and help condemn Pep’s men to the Europa League or worse.
Predicted Lineup
Onana;
Yoro, Maguire, Mazraoui;
Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu;
Garnacho, Hojlund, Mount.
Form Guide
Manchester United form (all competitions): DDWWL
Manchester United form (Premier League): DWDWL
Manchester City form (all competitions): WLDWW
Manchester City form (Premier League): LWLDW
Prediction
City’s injury problems and our recent record against them make this a perfect opportunity for us. While we’ve been inconsistent throughout the season, we showed signs of improvement in the last few games and were unlucky to leave Nottingham empty-handed.
The visitors will be desperate to beat us and potentially sneak into those Champions League spots, but at Old Trafford and with a couple of key players returning, we have every reason to be optimistic.
Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City