We all love a good Manchester derby, don’t we? It just seems to have something that other derbies don’t, and this edition doesn’t look like it’s going to disappoint!
It’s little surprise given the quality of the two stadiums that the derbies at Old Trafford seem to have more atmosphere, so we’re all getting very excited for this Sunday.
As ever, the derby will be on live TV with Sky Sports set to show the battle, which kicks off at 4:30.
City will marginally be the fresher of the two sides with one extra day to prepare after their FA Cup fifth-round tie with Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday, whilst United faced Wayne Rooney’s Derby on Thursday evening.
Pep Guardiola’s men will be out for revenge after the last league meeting between these two the other side of Christmas, in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s boys produced an Etihad masterclass to confound the 888 Premier League odds and come away with a 2-1 victory and all three points.
They did meet over two legs of the League Cup semi-final in January, this time the blue side of Manchester emerging 3-2 aggregate winners on route to lifting that trophy.
And with both outfits unbeaten in their last five and looking to make the Champions League spots in the Premier League, there’s plenty to play for.
Having said this, they do both still have European cup competitions this season to worry about, so we could well see a slightly more tired derby with the volume of matches recently.
However, the energy of the crowd should give the players that extra boost and speaking of players, Bruno Fernandes and Kevin de Bruyne will undoubtedly have big roles to play on either team.
Furthermore, the injury absences of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford for the hosts and Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane for the visitors will be greatly felt, adding to the dynamic of the encounter.
