Michael Owen speaks
Michael Owen has given his thoughts on the Manchester derby
Michael Owen is predicting a 1-1 draw in Sunday's Manchester derby, with the ex-England star insisting Manchester City look "unrecognisable" at the moment.
City have an excellent record against their local rivals under Pep Guardiola, despite losing last season's FA Cup Final. However, they are in the midst of a poor run of form, the worst of Guardiola's tenure, having won just one of their last ten games across all competitions.
United, meanwhile, are in a period of transition under new boss Ruben Amorim who has picked up three wins in his first six games. And Owen believes "anything could happen" in Sunday's derby, given the respective situations at both clubs.
"I think it's probably the first time in a long time that Manchester United fans aren't absolutely petrified going into the game, believing that they might get battered 5-0," the former United striker said.
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"Manchester City are unrecognisable at the moment and I can't imagine how they can beat anyone by five at the moment, the way they're playing. It certainly is a great time to play Manchester City. They've got injuries, their lack of form, their confidence is down. It's probably one of the most finely balanced Derbies. I know it's at the Etihad and I know Manchester City will be favourites, but I wouldn't like to put my house on any result."
He added, speaking to AceOdds: "I could easily see Manchester United getting a result, so I think it's a really difficult one to call. It's probably the hardest derby in years to call, you would say Man City to come out on top but I'm not so sure this time. Anything could happen. I put 1-1 in my predictions because I can't see where Manchester City are going to get their next win from.
"I watched them against Crystal Palace the other day. It just feels like they're not in control of any game at the moment."
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