Manchester United-Manchester City is a match valid for the tenth day of the Premier League and is played on Sunday at 4:30pm: TV, formations, predictions.
It is the week of big matches in the major European leagues, and the Premier League will be no exception, offering a juicy Manchester derby in the Sunday postponement. The gap between United and City has certainly widened in recent years-the Cityzens last May pulled off the Treble the way the Red Devils did in 1999-but the cross-town match doesn’t lose an ounce of appeal. And it remains a match in which anything can happen, a challenge with absolutely unpredictable dynamics.
In the last previous league fixture, in fact, it was Erik ten Hag’s team that came out on top (2-1), breaking a fast of about two years. Pep Guardiola then took revenge in June, just days before the Champions League final with Inter Milan, prevailing over United at Wembley in the FA Cup final (2-1). The two teams today are experiencing diametrically opposite moments and the standings speak for themselves. Manchester United is only eighth, still far from fourth place, and is trying to get out of the first crisis of the season, which has caused the Dutch coach’s bench to falter. After the defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League, seen as the so-called point of no return, the Red Devils have pulled out the stops by winning their next three matches: first the two narrow successes with Brentford and Sheffield United in the league and then the one in the cup against Copenhagen (1-0), with former Inter Milan player Onana redeeming the negative performances of the past weeks by saving a penalty for the Danes in the dying minutes.
City got back on track
He also had to deal with his first defeats of the season City after two months in which Guardiola’s team did nothing but rack up successes.
A City lineup
But it was only a slight downturn, as confirmed by the victory in the last round of the league with Brighton, beaten 2-1 at Etihad Stadium, and the success in the Champions League with Young Boys (1-3 and yet another double by Haaland), which allowed the Catalan coach to mortgage qualification for the quarterfinals. The Cityzens are no longer first but remain two points behind leading Tottenham. Guardiola in the derby regains an indispensable element such as Rodri, but will have to do without the disqualified Akanji. On the other side ten Hag hopes to recover Casemiro, still not at his best.
The prediction
The prediction remains open as in any self-respecting derby but there is no doubt that at the moment it is City that has more certainties than its cousins. Manchester United in their last three games have won but struggled against inferior opponents. Trust the Cityzens in a match that should reserve goals and spectacle, even in light of the defensive problems that are affecting both.
The probable lineups of Manchester United-Manchester City
- MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Reguilon; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Bernardo Silva; Doku, Julian Alvarez, Foden; Haaland.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
