Man United v Manchester City Premier League preview

Enzo Maresca urged Manchester City to be themselves as he prepares to take charge for the Manchester derby for the first time.

City make the short trip to face Manchester United at Old Trafford after reeling off four successive wins to the start Maresca’s first season.

But City’s recent form against United has been far from impressive. Only one of their previous four away games against their neighbours has resulted in victory, which came in a 3-0 win in October 2023.

Despite their recent issues in this fixture, Maresca is relishing his first taste of it.

“It’s very important for different reasons,” Maresca told a pre-match press conference.

“It’s a derby. Especially for the club, for the fans. Special game and most important thing we can do is be ourselves and then we will see the final result.

“Every derby is more or less similar. I have been in different ones.

“The worst was Olympiacos v Panathinaikos because that was very hot. Juventus, Torino. Sevilla, Betis. As a manager with Chelsea. They are all special games for the fans first of all, for the coaching staff, a special game for everyone.

“I want these kinds of games. I like these kinds of games.”

City midfielder Elliot Anderson stoked the derby flames after joining the club from Nottingham Forest, declaring them to be the ‘Kings of Manchester’.

Those words are a reflection of the success City have enjoyed over the last 15 years compared to United. Following contrasting starts to the season, City will again be expected to have a superior season to Michael Carrick’s men, who have taken just four points from Premier League games with Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton.

However, after qualifying for the Champions League with a third-placed finish last season, Carrick believes the perception around United is starting to change.

Asked about Anderson’s remarks following their Champions League win over Sabah, Carrick said: “I’m definitely not using that phrase at all, no.

“I understand it, and I think going into the Champions League game tonight and talking about the expectation there, I think it’s a really good thing that it’s shifted in a way, and all of a sudden there’s different things asked of us now to maybe what was a few months ago, and we’re in the Champions League.

“That in itself shows the steps we’ve made and we need to be in the later stages of that.”

A routine victory against Champions League debutants Sabah will not have eased concerns about a shaky Premier League start, and United will need a convincing performance against their rivals to raise hopes of them surpassing City domestically.

Manchester United v Man City Premier League team news

Luke Shaw is a doubt for United, who will again be without Carlos Baleba (ankle), Amad Diallo (knock) and Matthijs de Ligt (back).

Nico O’Reilly could return from a back injury for City, but Jeremy Doku (calf) is less likely to feature.

Manchester United v Manchester City predicted line ups

Manchester United: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Dorgu; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Sesko.

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, Fernandez; Semenyo, Cherki, Ndiaye; Haaland.

Man United v Man City stats, Premier League form

• United won this exact fixture last season 2-0 but haven’t beaten rivals City twice in a row at home in the Premier League since a run of three under Alex Ferguson from 2008/09 to 2010/11
• They have won nine of their 10 Premier League home games since Michael Carrick took charge in January (L1), scoring at least twice in each victory
• Their current three-match winning run at home has come despite conceding twice each time. United have not conceded at least two goals in four straight home league games since January 1972
• Carrick’s side have conceded twice in all three of their Premier League games this season, leaving them poised to ship at least two goals in their first four games of a league campaign for the fourth time
• The Red Devils previously did so in 1926/27 (first five games), 1930/31 (12) and 1969/70 (4), although their threat in attack is demonstrated by the fact they had the most attempts overall (68) and accumulated the second highest expected goals total (7.3) across the first three matchdays
• City have won one of their last four Premier League games against United (D1 L2), having won five of their preceding six (L1)
• They are looking to win each of their opening four games in a Premier League campaign for the seventh time, which would be the outright most of any side (Chelsea are also 6)
• The Cityzens have proceeded to win the league on two of those six occasions (2011/12 and 2023/24)
• Elliot Anderson has completed more passes while under high pressure than any other player in the Premier League this season (122), with United’s Youri Tielemans second in that respect (114)
• Erling Haaland has eight goals in seven Premier League appearances against Manchester United, although only two of those have come at Old Trafford
• Only Mohamed Salah (13) and Alan Shearer (10) have scored more against the Red Devils in the competition

Where to watch Man United v Man City: TV channel, live online streams

Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:30 BST (11:30 ET / 08:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.

Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £27.99 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

Here’s the full list of Premier League international broadcasters.

Manchester United v Manchester City Premier League prediction

United are on a high after a strong start to their Champions League campaign, but they have been far from convincing in the league, and City will be expected to take advantage of a questionable defence to take the points.

Premier League table

# Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts Last 3

1	Manchester City	3	3	0	0	7	2	5	9	W W W
2	Arsenal	3	3	0	0	6	1	5	9	W W W
3	Hull City	3	2	1	0	3	0	3	7	D W W
4	Chelsea	3	2	0	1	8	7	1	6	L W W
5	Brentford	3	1	2	0	5	2	3	5	D D W
6	Liverpool	3	1	2	0	6	4	2	5	W D D
7	Newcastle	3	1	2	0	6	4	2	5	D W D
8	Everton	3	1	2	0	5	3	2	5	D D W
9	Leeds	3	1	2	0	3	2	1	5	D D W
10	Brighton	3	1	1	1	8	5	3	4	D L W
11	Manchester United	3	1	1	1	7	6	1	4	D W L
12	Sunderland	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	D W L
13	Crystal Palace	3	1	0	2	4	8	-4	3	W L L
14	Ipswich	3	1	0	2	4	8	-4	3	L L W
15	Bournemouth	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2	D D L
16	Nottingham Forest	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2	D D L
17	Aston Villa	3	0	1	2	0	5	-5	1	D L L
18	Tottenham	3	0	1	2	0	5	-5	1	D L L
19	Fulham	3	0	0	3	4	7	-3	0	L L L
20	Coventry	3	0	0	3	0	5	-5	0	L L L

• Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
• Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
• Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship