******We look ahead to the first Manchester derby of the 2026-27 WSLseason with our Man Utd vs Man City prediction and preview.
Man Utd vs Man City: The Key Stats****
Having made a perfect start to their title defence, Manchester City are the Opta supercomputer’s favourites against Manchester United, with a 47% win probability.
City could equal their best-ever start to a WSL campaign, having previously won their first seven games in 2017-18.
City won 3-0 both home and away against United last season and could become the first team out of the two to win three straight Manchester derbies in the WSL.
The recent international break did little to disrupt Manchester City’s momentum in the Women’s Super League, as they beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-2 last weekend to maintain their perfect start to 2026-27.
But a major test awaits Andrée Jeglertz’s side this Sunday, as they travel to Leigh Sports Village to face United in the first Manchester derby of 2026-27. The City boss will be urging his players to stay focused, given they almost threw away a three-nil lead against Brighton last time out.
Khadija Shaw helped herself to a brace and summer signing Niamh Charles opened her account for the Citizens as they cruised into a three-goal lead within 17 minutes, but they had to navigate a tricky second half after Olivia Garcia and Caitlin Hayes struck to get Brighton back within a goal.
It was the fastest City had scored three goals in a WSL game since April 2022, also against Brighton (three goals in 16 minutes).
That victory means Jeglertz’s side will look to win their first seven games of a top-flight campaign for just the second time, having previously done so in 2017-18.
This weekend will also likely bring a landmark occasion for Shaw who will make her 100th WSL appearance, becoming the first to player to celebrate such an achievement in a Manchester derby.
And, after finding the net against Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton (seven goals in total, did not score as a substitute versus Charlton Athletic), she could become the first player to score on her first six starts of a WSL season.
Shaw shots WSL 2026-27 MD6
Shaw shots WSL 2026-27 MD6
Jeglertz could look to shake up his team after that near-collapse, as City have made more changes to their starting lineups in the WSL this season than any other team (18).
On the other hand, only Tottenham (four) have made fewer than United (five), who could name the same starting XI for four consecutive league games for the first time since the opening five matchdays of 2021-22.
Lauren Hemp leads all WSL players for chances created (19). Twelve of those have been for Shaw, with three turning into assists; no other player in the league has created more than five opportunities for a single teammate.
Hemp is also closing in on a WSL landmark for a single club, as she has 99 combined goal involvements for City (48 goals, 51 assists). She could become just the fourth player to bring up a century in the competition for a single club.
Hemp- 100 goal involvements for City
Hemp- 100 goal involvements for City
A few weeks ago, keeping Hemp and Shaw quiet would certainly have looked to be beyond United, who opened the campaign with one point from their first three games. But Eva Olid’s side have turned things around with three straight victories in the competition.
Ella Toone, Andrea Medina and Julia Zigiotti Olme all scored in the first 31 minutes of their most recent WSL game, a 3-1 win over rock-bottom Charlton. It was just the fourth time in history a United side has scored as many goals in as many minutes, and the first instance since September 2022 against Reading.
Charlton vs Man U WSL Oct 2026
Charlton vs Man U WSL Oct 2026
And though the strength of the opposition should be taken into account, United have certainly shown signs of adapting to Olid’s possession-based style.
Against Charlton, United completed a whopping 700 passes with a pass accuracy of 88.7%, also boasting a 76.2% possession share.
Those were all record highs for them in a WSL game, while it was the most passes completed by any side in the competition since January 2025, when Arsenal tallied 707 against Crystal Palace.
Toone’s goal in that game took her level with Leah Galton at the top of United’s all-time WSL scoring charts (35 goals), and she also has a strong record in Manchester derbies.
She has made the most appearances (12) and has also been involved in the joint-second most goals (five – three goals, two assists) of any player in such WSL meetings.
Man Utd vs Man City Head-to-Head
City completed a WSL double over United last season with 3-0 victories both home and away, and could now become the first side in this fixture to win three consecutive league meetings.
Man U vs Man U WSL March 2026
Man U vs Man U WSL March 2026
United’s record against City at home has also been underwhelming. They have won just one of their six WSL home matches against their rivals (D3 L2), with Lucía García’s stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 victory in May 2023 their sole success.
More broadly, United have struggled in clashes with the WSL’s established elite. Since the start of last season, they have collected just four points from eight league meetings with Arsenal, Chelsea and City (W0 D4 L4), the fewest of any of those sides.
By contrast, City have thrived in the biggest games, taking a competition-high 17 points from their nine league meetings with fellow ‘big four’ rivals since the start of last season (W5 D2 L2).
Man Utd vs Man City Prediction
The Opta supercomputer makes Man City favourites for Sunday’s game, even with home advantage favouring Man Utd.
The champions are assigned a 47% chance of taking all three points, compared to United’s 28.6% win probability. The remaining 24.4% of the Opta supercomputer’s pre-match simulations finished level.
Man U vs Man City prediction
Man U vs Man City prediction
Man Utd vs Man City Predicted Lineups
Manchester United: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Anna Sandberg, Dominique Janssen, Maya Le-Tissier, Hannah Lundkvist, Hinata Miyazawa, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Andrea Medina, , Ella Toone, Jess Park, Elizabeth Terland
Manchester City: Ayaka Yamashita, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Jade Rose, Kerstin Casparij, Yui Hasegawa, Lauren Blindkilde Brown, Lauren Hemp, Grace Clinton, Aoba Fujino, Khadija Shaw
Ad 1 – Opta Live- v1
Ad 1 – Opta Live- v1
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system that assigns an ability score to over 2,500 domestic women’s football teams on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world, and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of Sunday, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
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