It is coming up and it is expected to be a big one! The Manchester Derby is getting close – Manchester City will host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon as the Red Devils will try and stop the winning run Pep Guardiola’s side has started last year.
Here is everything you need to know about this match.
Team News
As you will see that Man City’s recent match record is perfect, their situation in the squad is equally ideal. There are no injured players, no players who are in doubt whether they could help out and there are no suspended players. Pep Guardiola will have a whole squad to choose from. We should therefore expect to see Kevin de Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez all start up front, but then this is Guardiola and he might always get some new idea.
As far as United are concerned, the situation is completely the opposite. Juan Mata and David de Gea are out, the latter of the two because of paternity leave. There are plenty of doubtful players though – Paul Pogba is having hamstring issues, Victor Lindelof has back problems, Anthony Martial is struggling with his knee, while Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek have been lacking with match fitness. This could mean we will see Cavani, Rashford, Greenwood and Fernandes as the front four.
Form Guide
There is no easier team to analyse their form right now than Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s team is in incredible form that is allowing them to basically walk towards the title while everyone behind them is struggling more and more. They have gone 28 matches unbeaten and their winning run is currently at 21 matches in all competitions. Incredibly, the last time City did not win a football match was back in mid-December, when West Brom of all teams managed to get a 1-1 draw at the Etihad. That was the only match since the 0-0 draw in the Manchester Derby that they did not win. Even more incredibly, the last time City lost was on 21 November against Tottenham, when Jose Mourinho’s side defeated tham 2-0. That is City’s only loss since the start of October.
On the other hand, we have Manchester United who managed only once to get three wins in a row in all competitions since the start of December. After their 4-0 win against Real Sociedad and 3-1 beating of Newcastle, there were three 0-0 draws for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. Now they will have to try to finally score against Big Six side, which they did only once this season – in a 6-1 loss to Spurs.
Predicted Outcome
When we take the form and the squad strength in consideration, it is clear Manchester City are the clear favourites against any team they face. While our rational side is telling us that Man City will beat Man United, we also believe this could be another Solskjaer ‘masterclass’ in which United manage to get a drab 0-0 draw against a top six side. Let’s see which side of our thinking will prevail.
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