The Red Devils were let off the hook a little over the weekend in that Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal all dropped points too, but there is still a three-point deficit for the 20-time champions of England to make up in their final four games of the season.There are reasons for optimism ahead of City’s visit, though; whereas United have lost five away games in a row for the first time since March 1981, they remain unbeaten at home in the Premier League since August and have won each of their last three such outings.
Manchester United vs Manchester City Head-to-head (h2h)
- The last three games in a row had both teams on the scorecard and more than three goals.
- The last six wins can be equally split into three each for both.
- 18 of the last 21 meetings at this venue saw the hosts finding the back of the net.
- Six of the last nine encounters had the visitors scoring two or more goals.
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Man Utd possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, McTominay, Pogba; Lingard, Rashford, Martial
Man City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy; Gundogan, Fernandinho, D Silva; Bernardo, Aguero, Sterling
Expect one of the fiercest encounters of the season at the Theatre of Dreams this Wednesday. Despite having the home advantage, United is just not prepared enough to take on the full might of City right now. Do surely keep in mind that Pep and his boys are hurt. They lost a place in the final four of the Champions League semis by a whisker, and they will need reparations.
While United lost five of their last seven matches, City has been in menacing form, with 23 of their last 25 fixtures resulting in wins. With the team determined to defend their PL crown, rely on the Citizens to carve out three points from this tie.
Head To Head
Recent meetings between these two sides have been very evenly matched, with four wins apiece and two draws from the last 10 Manchester derbies.Man City won the reverse fixture at the Etihad in November, though, and are therefore looking to do the double over their local rivals for the first time since the 2013-14 season.City are unbeaten in their last three Premier League visits to Old Trafford too, winning the last two including a 2-1 triumph en route to the title last term.
Man City Key Man
In their last two PL wins over United, City have gotten goals from David Silva, making him a player to watch in this encounter out of midfield. He might no longer be the first name that comes to mind when it relates to them, but the Spaniard can pick a pass from out of nowhere and can benefit from the pace from out wide. One of said wingers is Leroy Sane, who has had a stifled role recently for City. Expect that to change as they go for the jugular early and often against a Red Devils side that must be devoid of confidence currently.
Man United Key Man
It has been a downright ugly run of late for the Red Devils, and they need a hero to step in and save the day. A year ago, it was Paul Pogba that helped them drag themselves back and hand City their first loss of the season in a 2-3 win at the Etihad. Could he score again to keep the flames going for his side? Defensively, Chris Smalling is a man to keep an eye on. It’s a big ask to lock down City’s attackers for 90 minutes but he will be one of the men tasked with doing just that. He also scored in that win last year, so there’s that, too.