Michael Carrick will take charge of Manchester United on Saturday, as United Manchester City at Old Trafford.
Carrick has been appointed head coach until the end of the 2025/26 season, and it’s a mouthwatering fixture first up with Pep Guardiola’s men coming to town.
After Emirates FA Cup elimination to Brighton, it’s full focus on the Premier League now and it’s all still to play for in terms of Champions League qualification.
Both sides are looking for their first top-flight victory of 2026 and come into this match on the back of three consecutive league draws.
United were held by Wolves in our most recent home Premier League outing, before the contests at Leeds and Burnley also ended level.
City were pegged back late on in Etihad Stadium stalemates with Brighton and Chelsea, after a goalless draw at Sunderland on New Year’s Day.
Guardiola’s men have been flexing their muscles in the cup competitions though, battering third-tier Exeter City 10-1 before securing a first-leg Carabao Cup semi-final advantage over Newcastle United.
Semenyo has hit the ground running since his move from Bournemouth, registering the opener at St James’ Park and being unlucky to have a potential second ruled out, as the Blues won 2-0.
Amad and Bryan Mbeumo have returned to training at Carrington, after their Africa Cup of Nations exploits with Ivory Coast and Cameroon respectively.
Noussair Mazraoui is still at the tournament, as hosts Morocco face Nigeria in the semi-final on Wednesday. No matter what the result, he will remain in the competition until the weekend, as a third-placed play-off is scheduled for the two defeated semi-final sides on Saturday.
Harry Maguire returned to action against the Seagulls, but Matthijs de Ligt has still been sidelined. Shea Lacey will be suspended, following his FA Cup red card for two bookable offences.
City have added Antoine Semenyo to their ranks in January, but Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Josko Gvardiol (shin) are both sidelined, as is John Stones. Max Alleyne, the 20-year-old Academy graduate, has been featuring at centre-back for the Blues.
Omar Marmoush is still at AFCON, with Egypt, while Savinho and Oscar Bobb have been absent recently.