Manchester United came through their 4th round FA Cup meeting with Tranmere Rovers on Sunday unscathed. Against the 21st side in League One (third tier of English football) they won 6-0, getting goals from the most unlikeliest of sources.
Jesse Lingard scored his first domestic goal in over a year, and joining him was Phil Jones, why yes that Phil Jones. While Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot have their qualities, scoring isn’t one of them, but they joined in on the fun in that one too. Now comes a MAJOR step up in class and competition as they take on their neighbors City in the second leg of their EFL Cup semifinal tie.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City (League Cup Semifinals Leg 2/2)
Greenwood
Martial Mata James
Matic Fred
Williams Maguire Lindelof Wan-Bissaka
De Gea
Manchester Derby EFL Cup semifinal leg 2/2 (City leads 3-1 on aggregate) FYIs
Kickoff: Jan. 29, 7:45 pm, City of Manchester Stadium
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: City
TV: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football
Key facts/stats: Antony Martial loves the League Cup, as he featured in the competition a dozen times and scored five goals.
Prediction: Manchester City 1, Manchester United 0
Without Pogba and Rashford, the gap between neighbors is even more significant. City will likely coast, and still get through without too much resistance
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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