This Saturday hosts the first Premier League Manchester derby as Manchester City makes a short trip to Old Trafford to take on their not so noisy neighbors currently Manchester united in the 11th league round with kickoff at 15:30.
Both sides entered last weekend’s fixtures with different expectations as the game involving Manchester City was expected to be a walkover for them, while the one involving United was expected to be a tight affair between two managers under immense pressure to deliver a result.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earned an extension to his tenure as United’s boss when the Red Devils romped a 3-0 win at Spurs with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford costing Nuno Espirito Santo his job at Tottenham and salvaging Ole’s, while Crystal Palace chalked up a stunning 2-0 win at Etihad with goals from Wilfried Zara and Conor Gallagher ending City’s eight-match unbeaten run the Premier League and earning the Eagle’s a memorable triumph.
Both sides were involved in the Champions League action this week with Cristiano Ronaldo combining perfectly with the tournament’s nights as he cancelled out strikes from Josip Ilicic and Duvan Zapata, with his second goal coming deep inside the second half’s extra time to salvage Solskjaer’s bacon again as Manchester United drew 2-2 with Atalanta at away. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s side managed to bounce back from their weekend’s embarrassment as they cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win against Club Brugge, with goals from Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez propelling the Citizens to the top of Group A standings.
Both will be aiming for a win in this clash with United looking to avoid another thumping in front of their fans as the 5-0 walkover by Liverpool is still fresh in minds of the Old Trafford faithful who will want the board to pull a plug on the manager if a similar performance is witnessed again here, while City will be looking to avoid a second Premier League defeat in a row.
This will be a classic Premier League blockbuster as only three points separate the two in the standings with City in the third on 20 points, while United are in the fifth on 17 points level with Arsenal who have an inferior goal difference.
Man United vs Man City head to head
Both sides clashed in 57 derbies since 1993 with United having a significant advantage of 30 victories while City have 19 victories and there have been eight draws.
- Man City 0-2 Man United 07/03/21
- Man United 0-2 Man City 06/01/21
- Man United 0-0 Man City 12/12/20
- Man United 2-0 Man City 08/03/20
- Man City 0-1 Man United 29/01/20
Home
- Atalanta 2-2 Man United
- Tottenham 0-3 Man United
- Man United 0-5 Liverpool
- Man United 3-2 Atalanta
- Leicester 4-2 Man United
Away
- Man City 4-1 Brugge
- Man City 0-2 Palace
- West Ham 5-3 Man City (AP)
- Brighton 1-4 Man City
- Brugge 1-5 Man City
Man United team news
United will be without Raphael Varane who suffered a hamstring problem in their match against Atalanta and Paul Pogba is ruled out due to suspension while Victor Lindelof, Amad Traore and Anthony Martial make the doubt list.
Man City team news
City will be without Ferran Torres due to injury while Laporte will be out due to suspension.
Prediction and odds
- Man City win
- Goals over 2.5
- Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabriel Jesus to score
