5 reasons why City will prevail in the Manchester Derby

#2 The Midfield Battle

Pogba sees red, well that leaves ManU red-faced for the first derby of the season...

I remember a saying that goes, “Battles in football are won in the midfield.” This could well be the prime reason to believe that City will emerge victorious.

With Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick recovering from injuries, the Red Devils are left with limited central midfield options in Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic.

The turning point of the story has been Paul Pogba's red card at the Emirates, which many have declared as 'the moment that has handed the title to City.'

Now Jose Mourinho is left with the out of form Henrik Mkhitaryan and the diminished Juan Mata as creative outlets.

The absence of Pogba will be immediately felt, as the French midfielder had been in great form and assisted two of the three goals against Arsenal on Saturday.

On the other hand, City’s midfielders are thriving and have found the rhythm that is lacking in the United midfield.

Kevin De Bruyne (8), David Silva (8) and Sane (6) top the assist table while the only United player to feature in the top 10 list is Mkhitaryan (5) whose form has slumped in recent times.

Also, a quick look at the possession statistics shows that City with 66.2% is better United with 53.4%.

This clearly shows that City has a balanced and more settled midfield compared to United's which has been a cause of worry.