You know circumstances are really dire when the manager of a given football team 1.) feels compelled to apologize to all the supporters of the side and 2.) openly questions whether or not the players actually even care right now.
Yet that is the state in which we, all who follow Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United, find ourselves right now. On one hand, facing the juggernaut that is Manchester City, especially at a time like this when they are highly motivated, it certainly not the way to fix what is broken.
On the other hand, if motivation and desire is the issue, well how can you not get fired up for the Manchester derby?
If you can’t get up for this match, against an arch-rival, then something is seriously wrong inside because clearly the fire is extinguished and who knows how it could be rekindled. There is certainly no easy, quick fix for United either. It’s going to be a long, slow process to try and get back to what they once were.
It will be extremely interesting to see what Solskjaer does with his starting XI on Wednesday night as pretty much anyone is droppable at this point. Solskjaer said some of his players needed a “reality check” on Friday, but this warning seemed to have fallen on deaf ears in the rout at Everton on Easter Sunday.
The Bank Manchester United Starting XI Prediction Manchester Derby
Attack: Anthony Martial Romelu Lukaku Marcus Rashford
Midfielders: Paul Pogba Nemanja Matic Scott McTominay
Defenders: Luke Shaw Chris Smalling Phil Jones Victor Lindelof
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Manchester Derby FYIs
Kickoff- Wednesday Apr 24, Old Trafford 8pm
Injury report for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Manchester City Manchester United
Form Guide: Manchester United LWLWL Manchester City WWWWW
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 66%, Draw 20%, Manchester United win 14%
Prediction- Manchester City 3, Manchester United 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.