Manchester United have been cautioned by Roy Keane to strengthen their defense if they hope to win the Manchester Derby this coming weekend.
The Red Devils come to the Etihad fresh off a 2-1 setback to Fulham last Saturday, a performance and outcome that put more pressure on Erik ten Hag.
On the other hand, Manchester City have triumphed in 16 of the previous 18 games and scored six goals against Luton Town in the FA Cup midweek.
Naturally, City are favourites to win the derby on Sunday, and Keane said that he is concerned about his old team’s chances of having a challenging afternoon.
“You’d have to fancy City and United had a poor result last weekend. Recently United have been very easy to play against,” the Irishman said on ITV, following City’s 6-2 win at Kenilworth Road, as quoted by Manchester World.
“If United keep giving up the sort of chances they have in the last month or two then City will punish them. Hopefully a good Manchester United will show up and put in a good performance but they’ll certainly be up against it.”
Erling Haaland scored five goals and Kevin De Bruyne bagged four assists in what was a convincing win for Man City against Luton in the FA Cup. As the season approaches the business end, City are gaining momentum like they do every season.
“I think, you look at what they’ve done over the last few years and the players and the manager, now with the big games coming up – United at the weekend – the top players smell it and know it’s big stuff,” he said.
“These players have done it before and Pep is used to it. You saw him tonight and what it meant to him. Obviously there’s the disappointment with Jack [Grealish] getting injured, but that’s par for the course. He’s on about Haaland and De Bruyne getting up to speed.
“Not just physically, but mentally they’ll be fresh and they looked it tonight. Liverpool and Arsenal are getting a lot of headlines and rightly so, they’re playing some really good stuff, but I still think City will take some stopping.”
City are currently second in the league, one point behind leaders Liverpool. Like last season, Guardiola’s team is set to challenge for a treble again this season.
They are fighting for the league and the FA Cup and have one foot in the next round of the Champions League.
United, however, are eight points off of the Champions League spot in sixth position.
