Dejected Manchester City players leave Old Trafford after a defeat to Manchester United
Dejected Manchester City players leave Old Trafford after a defeat to Manchester United in the derby in January
View Image
Manchester City make the trip to Old Trafford without Pep Guardiola for the first time since October 2015 this weekend. That contest more than a decade ago was a drab draw with neither side managing a shot on target until the final stages of a dour stalemate.
On that occasion there was also a spotlight on City's spending. The Blues have reinvented their midfield this summer, breaking their transfer record twice in splashing more than £300million on Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi. Wind the clock back 11 years and the focus was on the £100m+ the Blues had spent to sign Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.
Neither managed to sparkle in the derby but both enjoyed stellar careers laden with trophies at City. The incoming trio this season would settle for similar.
City have won on only two of their last seven Premier League visits to Old Trafford and were comfortably beaten 2-0 in January in which Guardiola conceded that 'the better team won.'
"They had something we didn't have," he admitted after the game. "We always talk about the energy we need. It's related to how you defend, some moments, some duels and some situations, but also with the ball."
City will be confident of producing a better display this weekend under new boss Enzo Maresca with the Blues making the journey across town buoyed by four straight wins.
Eight months ago they were undone by too many poor performances from their big-name players with Rodri and Erling Haaland among those failing to sparkle.
City were also forced into fielding a makeshift backline with Abdukodir Khusanov, Max Alleyne, Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake forming the back four, the one and only time that quartet started a Premier League fixture.
Maresca will be able to call upon a more settled backline this time around with Matheus Nunes coming through the midweek win at Porto unscathed while Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi look set to complete the defensive set-up.
That consistency, backed up by successive clean sheets despite City exhibiting some defensive concerns in their opening games under Maresca, should give the Blues a foundation on which to try and exploit a fragile United defence.
To do that, City will hope their top talents can thrive going forward. There was very little rhythm to their game at Old Trafford in January while they were woeful with their set-piece delivery, something that had a direct impact on the contest when United opened the scoring when breaking away from a Rayan Cherki free kick.
Getting those basics right will allow City a platform to perform. Their frontline offers threats aplenty and Maresca's men have passed each test in front of them since the Community Shield, even if they haven't been at their very best. If the Blues extend their winning run to a fifth game, Maresca's start will have gone from promising to spectacular.