This weekend sees the city of Manchester come to a standstill, as their two footballing halves – red and blue – face off at the Etihad Stadium. Both teams have been struggling to achieve their respective ambitions in the Premier League, with City lying 12 points off the top of the table and Manchester United unable to string together a series of positive results to hold on to a Champions League spot.
At least, City are still in Europe, where they have been drawn against fellow cash-rich side PSG in the quarterfinals. Their neighbours, on the other hand, crashed out of the Europa League after losing to their age-old enemy Liverpool over two legs. Manuel Pellegrini’s men also have the luxury of two days more preparation time than the Red Devils.
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The odds are all in favour of the blue half of Manchester to nick this one, but United did stun Arsenal at Old Trafford three weeks ago when they were in a similar situation (48-hour gap between their and Arsenal’s previous games respectively). A failure to get all three points on Sunday would surely put their Champions League hopes to bed.
Can they tear up the script yet again and go into the international break with a smile as wide as the Manchester ship canal?
Kick-Off and Live Streaming
Channel: Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD
Live Stream: www.starsports.com
Kick-Off: Sunday, 20th March – 2130 IST(1600 BST)
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team News
Manchester City will be without captain Vincent Kompany, who suffered a recurrence of a calf injury – his 14th since joining the club in 2008 – in the 0-0 stalemate against Dynamo Kyiv. Fellow centre-half Nicolas Otamendi – who also came off injured against Kyiv – will face a late fitness test ahead of the game. Kevin de Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Samir Nasri remain sidelined.
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera is a doubt due to a groin injury he picked up ahead of Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool. Ashley Young and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson could both feature after recovering from injuries, but Wayne Rooney, Luke Shaw and Phil Jones are still absent from Louis van Gaal’s plans.
Form Guide
Two successive goalless draws against minnow clubs Norwich and Dynamo Kyiv are certainly uncharacteristic of Manchester City, who are known to blow such opponents away with their clinical attacking style.
The service to Sergio Aguero has been short of quality and the wingers need to press higher up the field to put the opposition right on the backfoot. Their failure to apply themselves on the pitch with the quickfire ball movement and the vision of the final pass makes it easy for well-drilled defences to shut them out.
With both their first-choice centre-backs likely to miss the game, it is imperative that they exploit any gaps in the United defence and get the scorecard up and running in their favour.
Last 5 games(All Competitions) : D-D-W-L-D* (Most Recent – Manchester City 0-0 Dynamo Kyiv)
*City beat Liverpool in the final of the Capital One Cup on penalties after the original game finished 1-1 AET
Manchester United have returned to square one. After seemingly taking a turn for better days with 4 wins on the bounce, they have failed to win any of their subsequent four outings – scoring just twice in that run.
A disheartening Europa League exit at the hands of Liverpool has left them needing to finish at least fourth in the league to stand any chance of appearing in the Champions League next season.
They remain 4 points off their opponents – who currently occupy the last Champions League spot. Anything but three points on Sunday would surely signal the end of their hopes of being amongst Europe’s elite next season. Not to mention Louis van Gaal’s future, which has been untenable since December.
Their inability to finish has been hurting them all season. As a result, they are currently feeling the wounds suffered by selling all their strikers in the summer. The departure of Robin van Persie, Falcao and Javier Hernandez, the decision to send James Wilson out on loan, Wayne Rooney’s injury and Louis van Gaal’s reluctance to play Anthony Martial down the middle means that they are currently relying on 18-year old Marcus Rashford to get them the goals.
The presence of Marouane Fellaini in the hub of midfield has disrupted their system entirely. David de Gea’s tendency to direct all his goal-kicks towards the Belgian and the outfielders’ decisions to play ‘long ball to Fellaini’ when going behind is completely untypified of Manchester United’s tradition to play with width and pace. Bastian Schweinsteiger offered just that when he replaced Fellaini on 75 minutes in the FA Cup game against West Ham.
To beat City, they will have to play with a certain liveliness and urgency on the ball. With City short on centre-backs, they do not have a better opportunity to assert their authority in the attacking third and create good goal-scoring opportunities. Can they close in on their neighbours in a bid to finish the season in the top four?
Last 5 games (All Competitions) : D-D-L-L-W (Most Recent – Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool)
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Key Stats:
Head-to-Head
1. City have won 6 out of the last 9 derbies in the league(D1, L2), including 3 out of the last four at home (L1).
- Sergio Aguero has scored 8 in goals in as many league appearances in the Manchester Derby.
- City are seeking to win their 50th competitive game against their neighbours.
Manchester City
1. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have won just once in their last 5 league games – a 4-0 win over wooden-spoon holders Aston Villa (D1, L3).
- They have failed to score in three of their last 4 games in all competitions.
- Their tally of 39 league goals at home this season is the best for any club in the Premier League.
- City concede one goal every 155 minutes when Vincent Kompany has been on the field this season. The same figure without him stands at 79.
Manchester United
1. Manchester United haven’t won in 4 games across all competitions.(D2, L2)
- They have won just one out of their last eight away fixtures in the league – the 1-0 victory at Anfield in January.
- Marcus Rashford has been involved in three out of his side’s last four league goals – scoring 2 and providing the assist for the other.
Key Battles:
Sergio Aguero vs David de Gea
World-class striker up against world-class goalkeeper. The Spaniard kept Manchester United alive against Liverpool, and will play a key role in attempting to thwart the flamboyant Aguero.
The Argentine’s special ability to create the space behind the defenders to get a shot away is rarely matched and de Gea will have to be as alert as a watchdog if he has to prevent himself from being beaten.
Prediction:
Although City have been firing blanks of late, they do have the personnel to punish the opposition if they make defensive errors. Chris Smalling’s recent vulnerability, combined with Aguero and David Silva’s partnership is set to bail out their thin defence and earn City a derby victory to reignite their title challenge in Manuel Pellegrini’s final season at the club.
Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United
