Venue – The Etihad
Referee – Anthony Taylor
Date & Time – Sunday, March 7th @ 16:30
It’s the Manchester derby this weekend. United and City clash at the Etihad in a game that’s bound to be a tough ask for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Everyone knows about our awful record against the big six this season but that’s not the only reason we are not in a more comfortable position in the Premier League standings. Dropping points last time out against Crystal Palace put a dint in our hopes of finishing second, but thankfully the teams around us continued to drop points – excluding City who swept Wolves aside 4-1.
We should be playing for revenge after losing the EFL Cup semi-final to City this season. They’re on course to win the title and can afford a few bumps along the way.
Form
Manchester United form
The form guide doesn’t read kindly for Reds. Manchester United stats show they’ve now drawn their last three matches 0-0 in all competitions. That’s a shockingly poor record and it’s something our forward players need to be reminded of because it’s hard to see Solskjaer’s side scoring goals at the moment. If they can’t score goals, what chance have they at the Etihad this weekend? There’s a good chance our unbeaten run away from home (21 games) will end on Sunday.
Manchester City form
City are unbeaten in 28 matches in all competitions and have only gone behind once in that period. They’re miles ahead of the rest in England and it’s going to take top quality recruitment this summer if we’ve any chance of catching them next season. On Sunday they can go 17 points clear on top of the Premier League.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay, Fernandes; James, Rashford; Cavani.
Manchester City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Bruyne, Rodrigo, Gundogan; Silva, Sterling, Foden.
Prediction
When the two teams last met in the Premier League at Old Trafford, it ended as a goalless stalemate, but City were not in the form they are now. This weekend we face a side that will believe they can go all the way in their remaining four competitions. We just need to be ready to take them down a peg or two.
Our objective may not be to win the title this season, however, finishing 15+ points off City this season wouldn’t mark the type of progress we need to see from United.
Manchester City 1-1 Manchester United
