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Manchester United logo
Premier League | Gameweek 11
Nov 6, 2021 at 12.30pm UK
Old Trafford
Manchester City logo

Man Utd
0 - 2
Man City


Ronaldo (90')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Bailly (7' og.), Silva (45')
Cancelo (48'), Silva (58')

Preview: Manchester United vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Manchester United and Manchester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Old Trafford plays host to a highly-anticipated Premier League derby on Saturday lunchtime, as Manchester United welcome Manchester City to the Theatre of Dreams.

Two places and three points separate the bitter rivals in the table at present, with one manager certainly under more pressure than his counterpart this week.


Match preview

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on October 24, 2021© Reuters

One can only begin to imagine what failure to beat Tottenham Hotspur would have meant for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's time in the dugout, with the Norwegian desperately seeking a response from his side's utter humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.

However, in a game which would ultimately cost his opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo his job, United prevailed comfortably in North London, as strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford set the Red Devils on their way to a 3-0 win.

There were no prizes for guessing who saved Solskjaer's bacon in the Champions League against Atalanta BC in midweek either, as Ronaldo cancelled out strikes from Josip Ilicic and Duvan Zapata to rescue a point for his side ahead of Saturday's derby.

Having managed to pull themselves out of their rut - at least for now - with victory at Spurs, Man United are hanging on to their fifth-placed position in the table after 10 matches, but Arsenal are now only behind Solskjaer's men on goal difference.

Worryingly for the Old Trafford faithful, United have taken just one point from their last three home games in the Premier League - scoring a solitary goal in that miserable streak - and not since April's win over Granada have the Red Devils crowd seen their side keep a clean sheet on familiar territory.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts on October 16, 2021© Reuters

One game involving the Manchester clubs last weekend was expected to be a walkover, while the other was tipped to be a tight affair between two managers under immense pressure to deliver a result.

However, Crystal Palace ripped up the form book to come away from the Etihad Stadium with all three points to show for it, as Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher struck either side of Aymeric Laporte's red card in a memorable 2-0 win for the Eagles.

The reigning Premier League champions were dealt another early blow in their pursuit of a sixth crown in the competition, but Pep Guardiola's side responded in ideal fashion against Club Brugge in the Champions League, easing to a 4-1 win courtesy of goals from Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.

Having seen their eight-game unbeaten run in the top flight come to a bitter end, third-placed City are now five points adrift of leaders Chelsea after 10 matches, but they have taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer away from home in the Premier League.

Despite posting two EFL Cup wins against their rivals in recent years, City are winless in four Premier League Manchester derbies - failing to score in any of their last three - but not many United fans will be placing bets on their side's hot streak continuing on Saturday.

Manchester United Premier League form:
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W

Manchester United form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D

Manchester City Premier League form:
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L

Manchester City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W



Team News

Manchester United's Raphael Varane in action on September 11, 2021© Reuters

United continue to make do without Paul Pogba - who serves the second of a three-game domestic ban this weekend - while Raphael Varane has been ruled out for a month with the hamstring injury he sustained in midweek.

With Victor Lindelof also nursing a knock, Solskjaer may not be able to field the three-man rearguard that worked to great effect against Spurs, but the Swede is thought to have a strong chance of returning here.

Fred, Cavani and Mason Greenwood will all come into contention for recalls to the first XI this week, with Rashford potentially dropping out of the side as Solskjaer accommodates the two veterans in the final third.

Meanwhile, City are already confirmed to be without Ferran Torres for another couple of months, while Laporte will join Pogba on the naughty step following his red card against Palace and Kyle Walker is a doubt with a foot issue.

John Stones - who scored an own goal in midweek - is therefore set to partner Ruben Dias in defence this week, while Kevin De Bruyne enjoyed a 15-minute cameo against Brugge and will hope to return to the first XI here.

Foden ought to continue as the focal point of City's attack alongside Jesus and Jack Grealish, with Sterling still without a goal against Man United after 23 games against the Red Devils.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Bailly, Lindelof, Maguire; Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Fred, Shaw; Fernandes; Ronaldo, Cavani

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Jesus, Foden, Grealish


SM words green background

We say: Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City

Had Eric Bailly not performed out of his skin in midweek, United could very well have shipped more against Atalanta, and the visit of another free-flowing attacking side in Man City spells trouble for Solskjaer and his depleted defence.

United's failures to keep the back door shut at home for the past six months have been alarming, and even though City have struggled for goals in recent derbies, we can only envisage the blue side of Manchester celebrating come the full-time whistle.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 51.55%. A draw had a probability of 24.5% and a win for Manchester United had a probability of 23.97%.

The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.61%) and 0-2 (9.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.63%), while for a Manchester United win it was 1-0 (7.05%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Man Utd vs Man City

Manchester United
42.1%
Draw
13.0%
Manchester City
44.9%
563
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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