Manchester United vs Manchester City – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Odds, Prediction

Manchester United will welcome Manchester City to Old Trafford this Saturday as both sides meet for the 52nd time in the Premier League.

Venue: Old Trafford (Manchester United)

Key Statistics

Manchester United have won their last eight games in all competitions.

They have not conceded a goal in their last three Premier League games.

The Red Devils are unbeaten in seven straight PL home games (W6, D1).

They have scored in their last 14 consecutive games.

Manchester City has the most goals in the PL this season (45).

They have scored ten times in their last two meetings with Man United.

Pep Guardiola’s side have won five of their last eight away PL games (D2, L1).

There have been eight red cards in this fixture in the PL, with seven of them shown to Manchester United.

Head to head

In 51 Premier League meetings between both sides, Manchester United has a better record with 24 wins. Manchester City have 18 wins.

However, the Red Devils have lost the last three derbies by a combined score of 12-3.

Latest performances in all competitions

Man United: W-W-W-W-W

Man City: L-W-W-D-W

Manchester United

In-form Manchester United will look to continue their hot run of form this Saturday when they welcome their fierce City rivals to Old Trafford for the second PL meeting between the pair this season.

The two teams met for the first time this season at Etihad, with City winning the game by 6-3. So the hosts enter this tie bidding to end a run of three straight H2H league defeats, their worst run of derby defeats since 2013-14.

They will also fancy their chances of ending it, given their brilliant form these past few months. Since losing to their rivals, United have lost just once in the Premier League (W8, D1). Moreover, they come into this round of games on an eight-game-winning run, with the latest coming in a 3-0 FA Cup win over Charlton.

In the Premier, they kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games and remain unbeaten in seven straight PL home games (W6, D1), a run which includes victories over Spurs and league leaders Arsenal.

They currently sit four points behind their rivals and may not feel like the rank outsiders the odds suggest. So a win here will reduce the gap between both teams to one point and automatically put the hosts as title contenders. Moreover, such a win will be a tremendous psychological boost for Erik ten Hag and his boys, who were ridiculed when they were beaten 6-3 at the Etihad earlier this season.

A special strike 💥

☄️ @Antony00 #MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/iliYtZ1pE7
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 11, 2023

Possible Manchester United starting line-up

David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Antony Matheus dos Santos, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial.

Injured: Donny van de Beek, Diogo Dalot, Jadon Sancho, Axel Tuanzebe

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola couldn’t hide his disgust at his side’s dire performance on Wednesday as they were beaten 2-0 by Southampton in the Carabao Cup despite fielding a solid team.

The Cityzens failed to register a shot on target for the first time in a match since April 2018 (against Liverpool). As a result, they were deservedly beaten by an energetic Southampton side who set up a semi-final clash with Newcastle following the win.

Guardiola blasted his team after the final whistle insisting that they were not psychologically prepared for the game and deserved to lose.

“The best team won,” he said.

“They were better.

“Today was not even close to what we are. We were not prepared to play in this competition to get to the semi-finals. We were not ready.

“You have to be prepared for every game when you play for Manchester City; today, we were not.

The Spanish coach also acknowledged that his side must sit up against United, or they wouldn’t stand a chance. “If we perform this way (in the Manchester derby), we do not have a chance,” he declared.

However, the visitors will be raring after reducing Arsenal’s lead at the top to five points with a 1-0 win over Chelsea. Guardiola’s men need only three goals to equal the most goals ever scored against United by a single opponent in one season, having scored six in their last meeting.

Such an eventuality would perhaps be a fitting way to mark Guardiola’s 500th game in top-flight management. With 254 Bundesliga and La Liga games in the bank before his 245 PL games at City’s helm, the Spaniard is simply unmatched in terms of win rate by any manager in Europe’s top-five leagues who have been in charge of 100+ games (76% – W379, D68, L52).