Man Utd vs Man City preview: 196th Manchester Derby showdown at Old Trafford

Manchester United’s quest for their first consecutive Premier League wins will resume after the international break when they host top-four-chasing Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, 6th April, in the 196th Manchester derby.

It’s been a rollercoaster season for United, with inconsistency being the central theme of their entire campaign so far.

The Red Devils currently sit in 13th place on the Premier League table with 37 points. The possibility of securing European qualification with a top-eight finish now looks impossible, as they’re eight points behind Brighton and Hove Albion in seventh place.

The club’s early-season form saw the departure of Erik ten Hag, but the biggest problem of winning games persists even under new manager Ruben Amorim.

United have only won 10 games this season out of 29, the lowest accrued points at this stage of the season over the past decade.

More worrying for fans with Man Utd tickets is their low-scoring volume. They’ve only scored 37 goals this season, the third-lowest of every team in the top 15.

They’re only behind Brentford (36) and Everton (32) in the top 15 teams with the fewest goals scored. They’re also the third-fewest scorers among the teams that are not in the relegation zone.

On a positive note, Amorim’s men appear to have found their rhythm in recent games. They’re currently embarking on a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Across all competitions, United have not lost a game in regulation time in their last seven games, with the penalty shootout loss against Fulham being their only full-time defeat in their run.

They’ve secured victories against Ipswich Town and Leicester City, while draws against Arsenal and Everton, where they came from two goals down, indicate that United are beginning to find their feet.

In their last Premier League game, they travelled to the King Power Stadium to face former player and coach Ruud van Nistelrooy’s relegation-threatening side. They produced a solid performance to win 3-0 and they’ll hope to extend that momentum against City next month.

After 29 games, City have now suffered nine Premier League defeats this season, equalling the most league losses Pep Guardiola has experienced in a single campaign (also nine in 2019-20).

This marks an unexpected decline for the four-time consecutive title winners, who could become the first defending champions since Chelsea in 2017-18 to lose 10 or more Premier League games in a season. City haven’t endured this many defeats in a league campaign since 2015-16, when they also lost 10 matches.

Pep Guardiola may be particularly worried about his team’s form at home, as they’ve been beaten three times at the Etihad this season—matching the total number of home defeats in the past three seasons combined. After losing 2-0 to Liverpool most recently at their stadium, they narrowly avoided consecutive home losses when they faced Brighton and Hove just before the international break.

That match had it all—penalty kicks, a free-kick goal, a disallowed strike, an own goal, yellow cards, and numerous missed opportunities. In the end, neither team could secure the win.

The result doesn’t help City’s chances of securing a Champions League spot, but they may find some solace in earning a draw—especially considering Brighton had the better opportunities.

The match kicked off with a historic moment, as Erling Haaland scored to become the first player to achieve 100 Premier League goal involvements in fewer than 100 games. True to form, the Norwegian shattered the previous record held by Alan Shearer, who reached the milestone in 100 matches, with Haaland reaching triple figures in just his 94th Premier League outing.

However, improvements are needed defensively, as Guardiola’s squad has conceded 40 goals in the Premier League this season—only surpassing this number in the 2016-17 campaign under the former Barcelona boss, when they allowed 39 goals.

In fact, City’s 66 goals conceded across all competitions in 2024-25 is their highest tally since 2015-16 (65), something that will undoubtedly excite the goal-hungry Højlund ahead of their upcoming encounter.

Man Utd vs Man City match details

• Date: Sunday, 6th April, 2025
• Location: Manchester, England
• Venue: Old Trafford
• Kick-off time: 04:30 PM GMT, 03:30 PM UTC
• Tickets: You can buy Manchester United vs Manchester City tickets through the club exchanges or via trusted resellers such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• City have conceded 40 goals in the Premier League this season—surpassing only the 39 goals allowed in the 2016-17 season under Guardiola’s leadership.

• United are ranked just behind Brentford (36) and Everton (32) for the fewest goals scored in the top 15 teams, also sitting third for the least goals among non-relegated clubs.

• This season, the Cityzens have lost nine Premier League matches, equalling their most defeats in a single campaign under Guardiola (also nine in 2019-20). Should they lose to United, they would become the first reigning champions to suffer at least 10 defeats in a season since Chelsea in 2017-18.

• City have dropped nine points from winning positions in Premier League home matches this term, the highest total in a season since 2008-09 (12).

• Across all competitions, United have remained unbeaten in their last seven matches, with their only loss in that period being a penalty shootout defeat to Fulham.

• In the first leg at Old Trafford, City led until the 88th minute but lost 2-1—marking the latest a reigning champion has led in a Premier League match and subsequently lost.

• In the last two Manchester derbies, the team ahead at half-time has lost (3-1 to Man City in March, 2-1 to Man United in December). This equals the number of times a team behind at half-time has come from behind to win in all prior meetings between the two teams in the competition (2).

• Fernandes recorded his third game with three goal contributions (one goal, two assists) in all competitions for the Red Devils. Remarkably, two of those came in his last two matches (against Leicester and Real Sociedad), matching the number of similar performances in his previous 201 games for the club.

• Amad Diallo’s goal in the first leg of this clash marked just the seventh 90th-minute winner scored against the reigning Premier League champions and the second from a United player, following Robin van Persie’s goal in December 2012.

• Since his debut in February 2020, Bruno Fernandes has recorded 80 assists across all competitions for United, second only to Kevin De Bruyne (90) in Europe’s top five leagues, surpassing Thomas Müller (79).

• With one goal and two assists against Leicester City, Fernandes reached 112 Premier League goal involvements for the Red Devils, moving above Ruud van Nistelrooy to claim 10th place on the club’s all-time list in the competition.

• Fernandes also became the sixth United player to reach 50 Premier League assists, joining the ranks of Ryan Giggs (162), Wayne Rooney (93), David Beckham (80), Paul Scholes (55), and Eric Cantona (51).

• City have failed to win four of their last nine Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium (W4 D2 L3).

Team news

City are still grappling with the absence of several key players, including Rodri (ACL), Nathan Ake (foot), Manuel Akanji (abductor), and John Stones (thigh). Oscar Bobb’s return date (ankle/fitness) remains uncertain as he works towards his much-anticipated first-team comeback.

Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol are expected to maintain their spots in the defence. At the same time, Guardiola will deliberate whether to stick with Rico Lewis at right-back or bring in Matheus Nunes.

Amorim will be hoping for the return of several key players, as Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, and Kobbie Mainoo edge closer to full fitness.

Defender Ayden Heaven is more uncertain about a return. The January acquisition from Arsenal was substituted early in the second half against Leicester City. He has since shared on Instagram that his recovery is progressing quickly.

Lisandro Martinez remains the club’s most long-term injury concern and is expected to be sidelined well into the next season. Luke Shaw and Amad Diallo are both still unavailable, though Amorim remains hopeful that they will return before the season concludes. Diallo was initially expected to miss the rest of the campaign but may feature in the final matches of the Premier League season—and potentially in the Europa League final, should United qualify.

Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, and Jonny Evans continue to be out due to various injuries, and it’s unclear whether any of the trio will return before the season wraps up. Heaton and Evans are both likely to leave the club this summer, meaning they could have already played their final matches for United.

Predicted starting lineup

Man City predicted starting lineup:

Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.

Man Utd predicted starting lineup:

Onana; Dalot, Maguire, Lindelof, de Ligt, Mazraoui; Casemiro, Fernandes, Garnacho, Eriksen; Zirkzee.

Prediction

As the 2024-25 season nears completion, United could potentially finish the league in the same position they were in when Erik ten Hag was sacked (14th), except results improve.

Achieving a positive result against their city rivals, who have won seven of the last ten Manchester derbies, would be a daunting task for Amorim’s side.

However, one thing United have demonstrated since the Portuguese arrival is their relentless attitude in big games. They’ve secured results against tough opponents like Arsenal, Liverpool, and even City in the first leg, where they came from behind to win.

City are not in their best form this season and could potentially struggle again against a spirited United side at Old Trafford.

We’re predicting a  3-1 win for Man  Utd.