Manchester City will have to be at their absolute best to return to winning ways against Manchester United.
Peter Crouch predicted Manchester City to beat United 3-1 on the weekend but Pep Guardiola will be aware that a victory will not be easy to come by against Ruben Amorim’s side.
Even when City were flying under Guardiola, former Manchester United managers such as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag have managed to win against the odds on derby day.
Football is not played on paper in any case and regardless, the Sky Blues are a point adrift of the Red Devils in the Premier League table after playing three games.
However, City players like Ruben Dias embrace the rivalry with Manchester United and they will be up for the contest.
Ruben Dias’ display vs Hungary is a concern for Man City ahead of Man United clash
However, Ruben Dias’ latest display in Portugal’s 3-2 triumph against Hungary must concern Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in the lead-up to his side’s clash against Manchester United.
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For Barnabas Vargas’ second goal, the 28-year-old made a blunder as he completely misjudged the cross and tried to clear the ball in the air instead of marking the Hungarian international.
As for Vargas’ first strike as well, it could be argued that had Dias kept pace with him when Hungary were on the break, the forward would not have had a free header inside the box that he eventually scored.
Ruben Dias in action during Hungary v Portugal
Photo by Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Dias made a mistake against Tottenham by losing an aerial duel in the lead up to Brennan Johnson’s goal as well and as brilliant as the Portuguese centre-back has been for years, he has been out of form for a while.
The former Benfica colossus seems to especially struggle in the air and when teams play on the counter, two aspects at the forefront of Manchester United’s attacking gameplan as they remain a direct side under Ruben Amorim
With Abdukodir Khusavov currently being injured and John Stones also withdrawing from England duty, Dias’ declining athleticism and defensive instincts could be exposed by a United attack that is quick, fearless and dangerous.
RUBEN DIAS STATS VS HUNGARY
GOALS CONCEDED 2
BLOCKED SHOTS 0
CLEARANCES 5
INTERCEPTIONS 1
TACKLES 0
The stats have indicated how passive the four-time Premier League winner was in his country’s latest outing as well.
Ruben Dias’ record vs Manchester United
Dias made no tackles and blocks while intercepting the ball once and completed a mere five clearances.
However, history suggests that Dias, who Manchester City signed for £65 million tends to end up on the winning side on derby days.
Dias has won six, lost two and drawn two out of 10 games during his time at Manchester City against Manchester United.
However, on derby day, the past becomes the past and unless big names like City’s number three step up to the plate, the hosts could drop points at the Etihad Stadium once again.