Manchester United players will now begin regrouping from the international break and immediately start their preparations for Sunday’s trip to the Etihad.
Indeed, the first Manchester derby of 2025/2026 falls just a month into the campaign, with both sides in inconsistent form heading into the fixture.
Prior to the break, United claimed their first three points of the term in dramatic fashion via a 3-2 win over Burnley at Old Trafford, with Bruno Fernandes’ winner coming from the spot in the seventh minute of injury time.
Ruben Amorim’s men had overseen a 1-1 draw with Fulham in matchweek two, and sustained their first defeat on opening day in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
As for Sunday’s hosts Manchester City, who recorded their first trophyless season in eight years last campaign, they have suffered back-to-back Premier League losses.
The Blues did look back to their best in their first game of the season when overturning Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 at Molineux. However, they followed it up with a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
A week later, City took the lead at the Amex against Brighton and Hove Albion before Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls came back to win 2-1, leaving City 13th-placed in the table.
Given how sporadic City’s form has been in recent months, it’ll be worth scouring the best betting sites in the UK ahead of kick-off this weekend to see what odds are being offered on potential results.
The last time the two Manchester clubs met in April, they played out an absolute snooze-fest of a stalemate in M16. At that point in the season, neither had too much to play for in the league and were instead prioritising other competitions.
The reverse fixture, however, was an exhilarating one.
Back in December, City held a one-goal advantage at the interval thanks to goalscoring defender Josko Gvardiol.
It took United until the 88th minute to respond, with Fernandes levelling the tie through a penalty and subsequently silencing the Etihad.
Just two minutes later, a moment of magic from revitalised youngster Amad Diallo saw the Reds clinch an unexpected derby win in the 90th minute, sending the travelling United faithful into hysterics.
Kick-off is at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon and is being broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
After vying with their arch-rivals, United will then welcome Chelsea to the Theatre of Dreams on September 20, which will see summer departure Alejandro Garnacho return for the first time.
