Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview

Manchester City and Manchester United will renew their rivalry this Sunday when they meet in the 195th edition of the Manchester Derby.

Manchester City have often been the favourites in recent meetings between both sides, having won three of the last five competitive games between them (D1, L1).

However, the Citizens come into this tie in atrocious shape, making their tag as favourites debatable. After a 2-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League in midweek, Pep Guardiola’s men have now suffered seven defeats from their last ten matches across all competitions (W1, D2)—as many as in their previous 105 games.

That leaves the defending champions eight points off the pace of leaders Liverpool, having played a game more heading into the weekend. So, a fifth successive title now looks unrealistic, although the hosts still have one of the best squads in the league.

That said, their immediate target will be recovering bragging rights in Manchester after last year’s FA Cup final defeat. So City fans will be encouraged by the fact they have won five of the last six Premier League H2Hs (L1), while only once have they been beaten at the Etihad Stadium this term (W7, D3).

Meanwhile, Manchester United halted a two-game losing run in the Premier League with a 2-1 comeback win over Viktoria Plzeň on Thursday. The win made Ruben Amorim the third manager in club history to win his first two European games in charge.

The Portuguese coach will now hope to make more history by winning their first Manchester Derby. However, Man United have won just one of their away games since mid-September (D5, L2).

Also, the Red Devils haven’t won back-to-back on the road since February, so their chances of climbing the table appear slim. The good thing is that Amorim has already beaten Pep this season. He is now chasing a unique piece of history as he could become just the second manager to beat the reigning Premier League champions with different teams in the same season.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table