Manchester City vs Manchester United
Date: 11/11/2018
K/O: 16.30
Venue: Etihad Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Football
Referee: Anthony Taylor
A rejuvenated Manchester United travel to the blue side of the city on Sunday for what promises to be a thrilling derby encounter.
Manchester City have been dominant so far this season and currently sit top of the league with nine wins in their first 11 matches. City are not only unbeaten side this season yet have scored a total of 33 goals and kept seven clean sheets – the most in the league.
Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling have both been in scintillating form; Agüero is the joint top scorer this season with seven goals and became only the third player in Premier League history to reach 150 goals for a single club last weekend. In addition to this, Agüero has also registered four assists this season. Sterling has also been in fine form with a phenomenal return of six goals and five assists in nine appearances, the Englishman may expect to receive some stick this weekend though after his appalling ‘dive’ which won his side a penalty in the midweek Champions League tie vs Shakhtar.
Guardiola’s side will go into the derby in high spirits after their 6-1 demolition of Southampton last weekend and their 6-0 thrashing of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League during the week. The fixture may not be as important for the title race as it was in the latter years of Ferguson’s tenure but the encounter offers City an opportunity to cement their title challenge and give Pep Guardiola a chance to get one over on his old rival, Jose Mourinho.
For their part, Manchester United have been slowly recovering from a disastrous start to the season. Mourinho’s men are unbeaten in their last four in the league after their abominable showing against West Ham over a month ago. While victories against the likes of Newcastle, Everton, and Bournemouth should be routine for the club, their performance against Chelsea will give them much cause for optimism going into the weekend.
Mourinho will be particularly buoyed by the fight and tenacity his team has shown in recent weeks. Late comebacks against Newcastle and Bournemouth and most recently Juventus; reminiscent of United’s glory days, prove that the dressing room has not been lost. An improved performance from Alexis Sanchez last week will also encourage the United faithful ahead of this weekend’s fixture.
United have to start getting points on the board if they are to challenge for a top-four finish this season. After dropping points against the likes of West Ham, Wolves, Spurs and Brighton earlier in the season, United cannot sit on the laurels and play for a draw against sides like Chelsea, Liverpool, and City. However, United’s Portuguese manager is a big game specialist and we could very well be in for a Mourinho masterclass this weekend.
Team News
Kevin De Bruyne is the one notable absence from the City squad for this weekend’s fixture. The Belgian playmaker suffered another knee injury in City’s recent Carabao Cup fixture against Fulham and is expected to be out for several weeks. Ilkay Gundogan remains a doubt after missing the last seven weeks with a hamstring injury while there are also question marks about the fitness of Nicolas Otamendi.
Despite the loss of De Bruyne, City still have a whole host of talented players to chose from. Bernardo Silva has been in good form this season after a relatively slow start to life in Manchester. Similarly, Leroy Sané’s goal against Southampton at the weekend will boost the young German’s confidence after being left out in the cold in recent weeks.
City’s defensive unit has been exceptional this season with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte forming a solid partnership. Laporte is starting to come into his own after fully embracing Guardiola’s sophisticated brand of possession-based football. The French centre-half has been instrumental in his side’s seven clean sheets this season and has also made a staggering 975 passes, a stat beat only by Chelsea’s Jorginho.
Diogo Dalot and Antonio Valencia are both doubts for the weekend due to ongoing injuries. The fitness of Romelu Lukaku is also questionable after the Belgian striker missed the Bournemouth clash last weekend and the midweek battle with Juventus due to an unspecified injury picked up in training.
Lukaku was replaced last weekend by the returning Sanchez. The Chilean did well in the centre-forward role and provided Anthony Martial with an excellent assist for United’s equaliser – he could well lead the line again for United in Lukaku’s absence. Martial offers Mourinho another option in the centre-forward position but the Frenchman’s natural balance and dribbling ability have seen him in fine form on the wing this season.
United’s midfield looked haggard in the opening stages of the Bournemouth fixture last week. Nemanja Matic needs to be rested but it is unlikely that Mourinho will drop his midfield general for such a big game. Fred had a performance to forget last week and the Brazilian’s poor positional sense allowed the Bournemouth midfield to run rampant in the first half. Ander Herrera was brilliant upon his introduction to the game last week and earned himself a start in Turin, this could see him start ahead of Fred against City on Sunday. The Spaniard adds a much-needed grit, fight and Premier League experience to a United midfield that can look lacklustre at times.
In recent meetings at the Etihad, it has been United who have left with the bragging rights. The last three meetings at the stadium have seen the two sides draw once and the Reds have two wins over Pep’s side. Most recently beating City 2-3 last April in a thrilling encounter.
Predicted Starting XI’s
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Silva; Sané, Agüero, Sterling
Manchester United (4-3-3): De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mata, Sanchez, Martial
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Manchester United 2
A month ago, City would have been a dead cert to take all three points but Mourinho’s United have shown an indefatigable refusal to be beaten in recent weeks. Mourinho will be looking to galvanize his squad and instill a siege mentality in preparation for Sunday. This, coupled with Mourinho’s penchant for tactical ingenuity and flawless game management in big matches, means United could cause an upset this weekend.
