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Three points and much more goes on the line at Manchester, as red takes on blue in another derby between Manchester United and Manchester City. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 12:45am (AEST).
Title chatter is no longer apparent in Manchester with seven rounds remaining – a most uncommon notion.
Following their 5-0 demolition of Newcastle on February 22, Manchester City looked primed for a late push at Chelsea’s lead.
Since then, the Citizens have stumbled upon one disaster after another. Forget the title – last season’s champions will now look to merely retain their Champions League place.
They’ve regressed so far that mathematically their red rivals are a closer shot to Premier League glory this season.
Manchester United may come to look upon season 2014-15 as strangely effective. For a team much lambasted throughout the season, United sit in third, one point behind second-placed Arsenal, and looking comfortable after a recent bout of good form.
The title may be realistically out of reach, but this season was only ever going to be about recovery after the disaster-plagued David Moyes era. On that score, Louis van Gaal has performed well.
In such circumstances, a derby comes at the worst time, with both sides preferring a clash where three points could be penned in with more certainty. However, with City having the seemingly easier run into May of the two, three points is more needed at Old Trafford.
On United’s side is the formline and home advantage. Having won five Premier League games on the trot, including a memorable triumph at Anfield, United will feel much better about their prospects.
United’s resurgence has come via the midfield, with Michael Carrick and Spaniard Ander Herrera controlling the pace and tempo of their recent outings. Another critical contributor has been the previously maligned Marouane Fellaini, whose height and endeavour behind Wayne Rooney has helped United retain continuous possession in the final third, assisting the likes of Juan Mata and Ashley Young to provide plenty for Rooney.
In contrast, Manchester City’s problems have largely come in front of goal, despite all of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Wilfried Bony available for duty. Coupled with a generally shaky defence that has plagued their title defence all season, Manuel Pellegrini’s position as City boss is tenuous at best. Failure to get a result at Old Trafford may spell the end of the Chilean’s reign.
The key for City will be to win the midfield battle, and for that, City may pack both Fernando and Fernandinho in defensive midfield, with Yaya Toure advanced further up the field to pose United’s suspect defence some questions. David Silva’s form is imperative to City’s fortunes, while one of Aguero or Dzeko must strike to keep the Old Trafford faithful quiet.
Despite the setting, the reality is both teams retain a comfortable advantage over fifth-placed Liverpool that will ensure a loss won’t result in a heavy penalty.
This may tempt both managers to play it safe, with a draw mutually beneficial.
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