Manchester United host arch-rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday in the third derby instalment of the season.
Following the Red Devils’ emphatic 2-1 FA Cup triumph last campaign, the two clubs met at Wembley three months later to kickstart their respective 2024/2025 terms in the Community Shield. The clash ended in a 1-1 stalemate before City reigned victorious in the penalty shootout.
Then, in Ruben Amorim’s first-ever taste of the Manchester derby, his side oversaw a dramatic and exhilarating finale at the Etihad, which saw United level the scoring in the 87th minute through Bruno Fernanes and clinch all three points on the brink of full-time thanks to Amad’s heroics.
The Ivorian starlet will, unfortunately, be absent this time around due to injury, so Amorim will be pinning his hopes on the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee to provide in the same way their counterpart did back in December.
Doing the double over the Blues in his maiden season would certainly be an impressive feat for Amorim, and there’s never been a better time for United to stamp their authority with a convincing display in M16.
Three pundits expect the spoils to be shared in United vs City
City enter the fixture in fifth place, meaning the result will be crucial to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. It’s also now confirmed to be the final games of Kevin De Bruyne’s 10-year tenure from now until the summer and he’ll be hoping to go out in style in something of a farewell tour – so United simply have to make his final Old Trafford trip a torrid one.
While the contest holds nowhere near the same gravitas it has in recent years, there’s still a whole lot of pride on the line for those involved and watching on from the stands. Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Paul Merson all expect the outcome will be a draw come Sunday evening, predicting 2-2, 1-1 and 1-1 scorelines respectively.
“The Manchester derby this time around isn’t a foregone conclusion like in the past few years,” said Merson in his Sportskeeda column.
“I feel Manchester United have a chance. It’s not like City are playing well, and I don’t expect them to ...
