“They have not clicked often enough” - Chris Sutton predicts winner of Manchester United vs Manchester City

Pundit Chris Sutton has backed Manchester City to win the derby against Manchester United. He claims that the Red Devils have struggled in attack this season, and it will be a key reason for their loss.

In his BBC column, Sutton stated that Manchester City look set to pick up a 2-1 win over Manchester United despite the injury to Erling Haaland. He has backed Omar Marmoush to step up and deliver but does not see anyone doing the same for the Red Devils.

He wrote:

"Manchester United are short of goals, and I don't understand why Ruben Amorim went with Joshua Zirkzee to lead their attack ahead of Rasmus Hojlund in Tuesday's defeat at Nottingham Forest. I see Hojlund as a number nine, while Zirkzee is a nine-and-a-half to a 10 - anything but a centre-forward. It cannot be helping Hojlund's confidence, because it is quite obvious Amorim doesn't fancy him when he is desperate for results and he is not picking him. People are saying United played well against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, and they dominated the ball, but they looked a bigger threat when Harry Maguire came on at the end of the game."

"Is there a chance of big Harry playing up front from the start here? That would be funny, but it is not going to happen. Manchester City will have to try something different in their attack too, with Erling Haaland out injured. They have not clicked often enough this season, especially in the bigger games, and I still don't feel you can trust them to turn up the way they always used to - but this time I have a feeling they will find a way through. If Amorim did manage to get the better of Pep Guardiola for a third time this season, then United would probably be selling T-shirts to mark the achievement. I don't see it happening though," Sutton added.

Singer-songwriter Mychelle also made her predictions on BBC this week with Sutton and she has gone with a similar scoreline. She believes that Manchester City have slowly picked up their form, while Manchester United remain inconsistent.

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Manchester United won at Manchester City earlier this season

Manchester United won 2-1 against Manchester City in December, thanks to late goals from Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes. The Cityzens were leading 1-0 until the 88th minute thanks to a first-half goal from Josko Gvardiol.

However, a penalty from Fernandes and a goal in the 90th minute from the youngster Diallo saw the game turn on his its head and the Red Devils managed to walk away with all three points. The two sides also met twice at Wembley last year and the Red Devils have remained unbeaten in normal time, while also picking up the FA Cup final win last season.

Manchester United are looking to complete their first league double over Manchester City for the first time since the 2019-20 season.