Man United host Man City in the Manchester derby on Sunday, with the Blues looking to exact revenge.
Earlier in the season in the first Manchester derby of the campaign, Man United beat Man City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on what was a bitter day for Pep Guardiola’s side, and a result that sums up their struggles this season.
But City’s struggles are nothing compared to those of United. On Tuesday night, Nottingham Forest beat Man United 1-0 at the City Ground, leaving Ruben Amorim’s side in 13th place of the Premier League table and 14 points behind Man City in 4th.
On Wednesday, Man City beat Leicester City 2-0 to set themselves up for Sunday’s game at Old Trafford. Here are five predictions for the Manchester derby…
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Mateo Kovacic will start for Man City against Man United in congested midfield
Amorim plays a 3-4-3 formation at Man United. It makes for a quite compact midfield and on Tuesday night it was Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte who started in the midfield, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho dropping back to join in the play.
With the game likely to be won or lost in the centre of the park, expect Pep to bring Mateo Kovacic back into the fold, purely for the Croatian’s ability to break up play and to also provide that added steel in the middle of the park.
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Guardiola is a big fan of Kovacic who was rested against Leicester which could be an early indicator that Pep plans to start him at Old Trafford.
Man City star Abdukodir Khusanov will pass derby test with flying colours
Another name rested against Leicester City was Abdukodir Khusanov. Pep left the Uzbeki at home entirely with Khusanov featuring with his nation during the March international break, and having played the full 90 of six of seven games leafing up to the March break.
Expect Pep to bring his new star defender back into the XI for the Manchester derby. The £34million January signing from RC Lens may still have flashbacks of his debut against Chelsea but Khusanov shone against Liverpool, and has done so against other top teams, so a game against a misfiring Man United should be easy work for the 21-year-old.
Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim could both rely on experience
Both teams are looking to usher in younger players this season, in a bid to usher in a new and exciting generation of Man City and Man United players. But for Sunday’s game, expect both Pep and Amorim to reinstate some of their more experienced players.
For Amorim, one could be Harry Maguire who made his return from injury off the bench against Forest, along with Christian Eriksen who was on the bench on Tuesday night. For Pep, expect Kovacic to be among the changes, with Kevin De Bruyne a possible candidate to come in from the start after being rested against Leicester, Bernardo Silva too.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Omar Marmoush could expose fragile Man United man Andre Onana
Despite an ankle injury to Erling Haaland, Man City look like they have a viable stand-in in Omar Marmoush. The Egyptian netted against Leicester City to take his tally to five in eight Premier League games since his £59million move from Eintracht Frankfurt in January.
He’ll no doubt lead the line again on Sunday and he could give Man United goalkeeper Andre Onana a very hard time indeed. Onana is a constant source of criticism among Man United fans with just eight clean sheets in 30 Premier League games so far this season, and a save percentage of 66.4% which ranks him 14th in the Premier League right now.
Per Capology, Onana earns a staggering £120,000-a-week at Man United.
Meltdown for the losing side, if there is one
After such disastrous seasons for both sides, United certainly more so than City, a loss for either side on Sunday would mean a meltdown for the unfortunate side, especially with City looking like the favourites but playing away from home.
United beating City would be a shock, no doubt, but City beating United wouldn’t as much of a shock as City have been by far the better team this season. And Man United losing at home to Man City would surely be another result that sends the Old Trafford faithful into meltdown.
There’s so much to play for on Sunday but also so much to lose for the losing side, if there is one that is.