The 189th instalment of the Manchester derby will take place tomorrow as hosts Manchester United look to extend their outstanding run of form.
The Reds’ first meeting with Manchester City this season didn’t go to plan after Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a 6-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in early October.
Since then, however, United have overseen just one loss in the 18 matches that followed. In that time they have picked up 15 wins and two draws – a win percentage of 83%. Heading into tomorrow’s fixture, United have won eight games in a row.
Ten Hag has outlined his desire for Old Trafford to become a fortress again and it’s certainly getting there; the team have now won nine consecutive home matches. In the Red Devils’ last 12 outings, they have won 10, scored 27 goals, conceded seven and picked up 10 clean sheets.
United sit joint third in the Premier League alongside Newcastle, who have played one less game. A win tomorrow takes the Reds to within one point of City and six behind league leaders Arsenal ahead of their meeting at the Emirates on Sunday, January 22.
Team news and predicted Manchester United line-up
Wout Weghorst has signed the documents to become a Red for the remainder of the campaign and the announcement is likely imminent from the club, however, he has not been registered in time to feature in the matchday squad tomorrow.
Diogo Dalot is unfortunately ruled out and Donny van de Beek will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Anthony Martial is in a race for fitness for the early kick-off.
This means Ten Hag faces a conundrum regarding the striker role. We predict: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fred, Rashford; Fernandes (C).
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
I think the squad is good for today’s derby although martial is needed on this game