Man Utd vs Man City preview | Confirmed team news | Expected line-up’s | Prediction

Manchester United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final this evening. 

United came out on top the last time these two sides met as they left the Etihad Stadium with an impressive 2-1 victory in the Premier League a month ago so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be looking for a repeat performance tonight.

However, Man Utd have been plagued by inconsistent form this season as they’ve dropped points against Everton, Watford and Arsenal since beating City and they were held to a 0-0 draw by Wolves in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Man City head into the game off the back of a comfortable 4-1 win over Port Vale and they’ll be looking to put one foot in yet another final with a positive result at Old Trafford having won the League Cup in each of the last two seasons.

Pep Guardiola’s side know the Premier League title race is realistically over with Liverpool too far ahead so City will see the Carabao Cup as the easiest way to get some silverware in the bag this campaign.

Team News

Man Utd will continue to be without Paul Pogba as he’s undergone a small operation on an ankle injury while Scott McTominay is also still on the sidelines with a knee ligament problem.

Harry Maguire is expected to pass a late fitness test after picking up a minor knock against Wolves while Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw could all return after missing the FA Cup game due to illness.

Solskjaer is set to make some changes with the likes of David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Fred and Marcus Rashford in-line for recalls after being rested at the weekend.

Man City will have Nicolas Otamendi available again after he missed the last two games with a knock but John Stones may keep his place alongside Fernandinho in the middle of defence.

Aymeric Laporte is back in training after recovering from a serious knee injury but this game comes too soon while Leroy Sane is also still on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury.

Expected line-ups

Predicted score

Man Utd 1-1 Man City: Manchester United have a terrific record against the big clubs this season and they’ll be quietly confident of securing a lead to take to the Etihad for the second leg. However, City are obviously a top side and I can see them taking a draw away from tonight’s game. It may be slightly more cagey than some expect so I’m going for a 1-1 draw.