The Manchester Derby is always special, and a fiercely contested rivalry match, every single time that it is staged. Saturday brings the first of this season’s two editions, with both clubs already out of the title race. Well, if Liverpool suffer an unforeseen collapse, and City get really hot, perhaps the defending champs can get back in the race for the league lead, but that’s a very long shot at best.
Currently third in the table, the Citizens host their intra-city rivals, who now sit sixth in the table. It’s going to be interesting to see what both managers do with their lineups in this one, as each side have a slew of injuries to contend with.
City are definitely the deeper side, by far, so Pep Guardiola will have less selection headaches than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Still I expect this one to be much closer than most believe it will be. The blue side of Manchester will likely prevail, but don’t expect a rout.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction
Rashford Greenwood James
Perera Fred McTominay
Williams Lindelof Maguire Wan-Bissaka
De Gea
Manchester City starting XI prediction at Burnley FC
Mahrez Jesus Sterling
D. Silva Rodri De Bruyne
Mendy Fernandinho Stones Walker
Ederson
Manchester Derby FYIs
Team News for both sides: go to this link
Kickoff: 7:30 BST, Dec. 7, City of Manchester Stadium
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 74%, Draw 16%, Manchester United win 10%
Form Guide: Manchester City WDWLW Manchester United- WDDWL
Series history: Manchester United wins 73 Draws 52 Manchester City wins 53
Prediction: Manchester City 2, Manchester United 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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