The 197th edition of the Manchester derby will take place at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, when Manchester City host Manchester United.
Both clubs have endured a troublesome start to the season, with City languishing in the bottom half, and United flattering to deceive once again, especially after a shock cup exit.
Match preview
For Man City, they are in unfamiliar territory after three matches, sitting all the way down in 13th after losing back-to-back games against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.
After winning their first four matches in both of the last two seasons, it is a huge shock to see City lose two of their first three for the first time since 2004-05.
A huge concern for Pep Guardiola is that the last time a team lost two of their first three matches and still went on to win the league was all the way back in the Premier League’s inaugural season, when Man United recovered from a slow start to win the 1992-93 title.
Taking just three points from a possible nine to start the season is Guardiola’s worst start to a league campaign in his career, and he will hope to turn the tide here, because the last time City lost three of their first four, they were relegated in 1995-96.
The home support will hope to see a return to the performances City showed at the back end of last season, when they rallied with five straight home wins to secure Champions League football, but United have been awkward customers in recent times.
City have won five of the last eight meetings, but they only took one point off a struggling United last season, in a drab 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in April.
United frequently keep their best performances for the Etihad, because in Guardiola’s 16 home league defeats as City manager, a quarter have been inflicted by the Red Devils, including last season, when an Amad Diallo-inspired comeback saw them win 2-1 in dramatic circumstances.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes on August 30, 2025
It is often noted that form goes out the window in derby matches, but in this fixture, it is home advantage that does, because the home side on the day has only won six of the last 20 meetings between the two sides.
Ruben Amorim’s win over City as United manager last season was a rare victory against a non-newly-promoted side, because the 3-2 win over Burnley last time out was just his eighth in 30 games in charge, and four of them have come against newly-promoted clubs.
In the other 25 matches, Amorim has won just four, a ratio of 16%, and even against the Clarets, they were fortunate, needing a 97th-minute penalty from Bruno Fernandes to clinch a 3-2 win - the fourth-latest winner on record the club has scored.
United have taken 58 shots in the Premier League so far - 14 more than any other side - but they have still needed a helping hand in front of goal, because they have become the first club in the history of the division to see both of their first two goals of the season be own goals, matching the tally of own goals scored in their favour across the last two seasons combined.
Manchester City Premier League form:
Manchester United Premier League form:
Manchester United form (all competitions):
Team News
Manchester United's Matheus Cunha and Diogo Dalot on August 30, 2025
City enter the derby with an eye-watering number of injuries all over the pitch, especially in defence, where Guardiola is down to the barebones, with Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rico Lewis all dealing with injuries at present.
In attack, Omar Marmoush picked up an injury on Egypt duty that will rule him out of this one, potentially joining Savinho and Rayan Cherki on the sidelines, leaving Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku as the only first-choice options on the wing.
Mateo Kovacic is still a few weeks away from returning after an Achilles injury, but City still have a relatively strong midfield to choose from, especially after Rodri’s comeback.
Man United have also been struck down with a number of injuries in recent weeks, because Matheus Cunha, Diogo Dalot and Mason Mount will all miss Sunday’s derby.
That leaves the door open for Benjamin Sesko to make his full Premier League debut, after playing back-to-back 90 minutes for Slovenia during the international break.
Senne Lammens has arrived in the hope of sorting Man United’s problematic goalkeeper position, but Amorim has confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start this one, after Andre Onana’s loan move to Trabzonspor.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Ake, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri, Reijnders; Bobb, Haaland, Doku
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Mazraoui, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Sesko, Amad
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We say: Manchester City 1-1 Manchester United
Man United are winless in their last six Premier League away games, but they have never shown fear away to City, no matter what form they bring into the fixture, and that could play a factor here.
City have looked utterly out-of-sorts so far, performing dismally against both Spurs and Brighton, and they have had some difficulties against United in recent times, so it is set to be a close encounter again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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