Manchester City vs Manchester United – Match Preview & Prediction

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Manchester United have their backs against the wall in the EFL Cup against Manchester City. The Red Devils dropped the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals. The Red Devils must turnaround a 3-1 deficit, but City have the edge since they own a two-goal lead and they will also be at home. This match will kick-off at 20:00 GMT.

Team News

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided an update following two of Manchester United’s most important players, as Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are both improving on their fitness levels. However, both are still ways away from returning to action. David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Anthony Martial are all available, although Harry Maguire could get some rest as he has logged the most minutes in the squad throughout the season. Plus, central midfielder Nemanja Matic should be doubtful ahead of this contest.

Meanwhile, Manchester City will have almost the entire team available. Winger Leroy Sane continues to recover, but he should be the club’s lone absentee. Aymeric Laporte has resumed training, but the coaching staff is taking care of him carefully to avoid setbacks. Claudio Bravo should start between the posts against United, and both Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez picked up knocks so they will need fitness tests. Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero were all rested during the comfortable FA win over Fulham last weekend.

Form guide

Manchester United have reached the EFL Cup semi-finals due to a string of strong performances. The Red Devils debuted with a 2-1 win over Rochdale, and then repeated the score against Chelsea in a game where Marcus Rashford scored one of the best goals for Manchester United this season. They looked even more dominant in the quarterfinal round against Colchester, where they cruised towards a comfortable 3-0 victory. However, they suffered a 3-1 loss in the first leg of this tie. Manchester United also posted a 6-0 win over Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup last week.

On the other hand, Manchester City have enjoyed a quiet campaign in the EFL Cup so far. Pep Guardiola’s men have scored three goals in each of their three fixtures so far, while conceding just two goals in total. For what is worth, they began their campaign with a strong 3-0 home win over Preston. Then, they won back-to-back matches against Southampton and Oxford United by an identical 3-1 score. They also posted a 3-1 win over The Red Devils, meaning they have the edge on the aggregate score here. They are coming off a 4-0 win over Fulham in the FA Cup last weekend.

What is our recent record against Manchester City?

Manchester City have been far more successful than United over the last few years. However, the recent H2H record between these two sides has been quite matched. In fact, each side has won twice in the last four Premier League meetings between these two clubs.

This will be the third meeting of the season for these two clubs. Manchester United won 2-1 at the Eithad Stadium, but City secured a 3-1 win at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup earlier this month.

Predicted outcome

Both Manchester City and Manchester United are 90 minutes away from reaching the EFL Cup final. And quite honestly, there are not enough signs to make Manchester United feel confident of getting a positive result here. Aside from facing the pressure of a 3-1 deficit on the aggregate score, The Red Devils will also be playing on the road since they have had poor results away from home this season. All things considered, City have a clear edge here ahead of this contest.

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