Old Trafford will host the 191st Manchester Derby on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United take on their noisy neighbours Manchester City. The United faithful will pay further tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of this game after he sadly passed away at the age of 86 last weekend. Both sides return after playing in the Champions League midweek, United won 1-0 against Copenhagen, whilst City overcame Young Boys 3-1.
On Tuesday evening, a Harry Maguire header in the second half and a stoppage-time penalty save from Andre Onana saw United secure their first win in the Champions League group stages. We have won three games in a row for the first time in the 2023/24 season, though our performances have remained unconvincing.
Last weekend, the Reds needed a stunning strike from Diogo Dalot to see off bottom of the table Sheffield United after Scott McTominay had given us the lead and Oli McBurnie restored parity. We have climbed up in the table to eighth place with 15 points after nine games, though a five-point gap remains between us and fourth-place Liverpool and the final Champions League spot.
Southampton and Crystal Palace are the only two sides to prevent United from scoring at Old Trafford in a league game since the start of the 2022/23 season. However, our defence has not kept a clean sheet at home since the beginning of this campaign.
Manchester United Team News
For United, the treatment room is beginning to see players come back from their injuries. However, there are still a few long-term absentees for Erik Ten Hag’s side with Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Amad Diallo, and Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines. The ongoing dispute between Jadon Sancho and Ten Hag does not seem to be ending anytime soon.
There is hope that Casemiro will return to the squad after picking up a knock whilst playing for Brazil on international duty. Ten Hag mentioned in his press conference that it is a race against time for him to feature in the derby on Sunday. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has returned to training and could be on the bench.
It is expected that the starting eleven to remain largely the same. Sofyan Amrabat only had 45 minutes against Copenhagen before being replaced by Christen Eriksen, who definitely made the case to either partner Casemiro or McTominay in the midfield.
Manchester United Predicted Lineup
Onana;
Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Reguilon;
Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen;
Antony, Hojlund, Rashford
Opposition Preview
Manchester City continued their defence of the Champions League crown with a victory over Young Boys in midweek. The Swiss side held out for the first 45 minutes before Manual Akanji bundled the ball home three minutes into the second half. It was soon wiped out when Meschack Elia lobbed Ederson to make it 1-1. Erling Haaland ended his goal drought in Europe’s elite competition when he converted from the penalty spot and then fired the ball into the top corner to complete his brace.
Still undefeated in Europe, City’s form in the Premier League has been stuttering and avoided a third successive league defeat last weekend when they got past Brighton 2-1 as they keep on the heels of leaders Tottenham Hotspur, who went five points clear at the top following their 2-1 win against Crystal Palace on Friday night.
City have now gone six games without keeping a clean sheet across all competitions. In addition, they could go three games without a win away from home for the first time under Pep Guardiola. United won the league fixture at Old Trafford 2-1 back in January but City beat us by the same score line in the FA Cup final as they went on to secure the Treble last season.
Manchester City Team News
Our opponents see them without defender Manual Akanji after he picked up a red card during the league fixture against Brighton with John Stones likely to come into replace him. The only other absentee from the Manchester Derby will be Kevin De Bruyne as a hamstring injury keeps him on the sidelines. Josko Gvardiol, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden are expected to make their returns to the starting eleven.
Form Guide
Manchester United Premier League form: LLWLWW
Manchester United (all competitions): WLLWWW
Manchester City Premier League form: WWWLLW
Manchester City form (all competitions): LLWLWW
Prediction
Form goes out the window when it comes to the Manchester Derby. United will be looking to win consecutive home games against City for the first time since winning three in a row between the 2008/09 and 2010/11 seasons. Our attacking line will need to produce its best as we look to take advantage of the opposition defence that has not been firing on all cylinders this season.
Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City
