Manchester United vs Manchester City

The 186th edition of the Manchester derby pits underperforming Manchester United against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Inspired by rampant Cristiano Ronaldo, Man United eked out a 2-2 away draw against Atalanta in midweek Champions League action to build on a 3-0 thumping of Tottenham last time out. Despite guiding his side to a landslide victory in north London, under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not off the hook yet. A 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in United’s most recent Premier League fixture at Old Trafford is still looming in the forefront of the fans’ minds. Another lackluster showing in a derby might be unforgivable, but after guiding his side to a four-match unbeaten H2H run in the Premier League (W3, D1), Solskjaer will be confident. And while the ‘Red Devils’ haven’t kept a single clean sheet across their last 13 top-flight matches at home, they kept Man City at bay in three straight league H2Hs.

As for Man City, an overwhelming 4-1 Champions League win over Club Brugge has helped the supporters forget about an abysmal 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace last time out. Though the defending champions have blown hot and cold in the early Premier League exchanges, a return of three victories from their last four league travels (D1) can encourage the traveling faithful. Manager Pep Guardiola has already rued his failed attempts to land Tottenham’s Harry Kane in the summer, with the ‘Citizens’ drawing a blank in three of their ten Premier League fixtures this term, already as many as they had in the entire 2020/21 campaign. Another worrying sign could be Man City’s inability to grind out a result after falling behind, as they’ve claimed just one point from three Premier League matches in which they conceded first this season (D1, L2).