Manchester United vs Manchester City. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Manchester United FC will host Manchester City in the English Premier League 10th round match at the Old Trafford Stadium. The fixture will take place on Sunday, October 29, beginning at 21:00 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Manchester United News & Current Form: 

If you think back to the beginning of last season, Manchester United have quite the regular situation. The fans still hate the club’s owners, the Glazer brothers. Perhaps even more so now. They are the ones they blame for the team’s many failures. 

In the first half of the year there were negotiations about their sale of the club, the amounts and bidders were named, many people rubbed their hands and built hopes for the revival of the team. But the Americans clung so tightly to their cherished creation that they don’t want to give it up even if they are offered a sum for the club higher than the established one. 

You can understand them, it’s a big asset that brings good money. At the beginning of last season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was replaced by Erik ten Hag, who brought AFC Ajax to the leaders of European football. Once again hopes and once again disappointment at the start of the championship. Several defeats in a row, the last place in the standings and the fog ahead.

There was talk that the mentor is not suitable for the team, but he managed to prove his worth quite quickly, got rid of Cristiano Ronaldo, established a microclimate in the locker room and even won the English Football League Cup. 

Now, if last season ten Hag was admirable, regularly making the right tactical and managerial decisions, then in the current campaign his ideas do not work. In addition, the coach has a conflict with Jadon Sancho. The striker was suspended, which hardly had a positive impact on the atmosphere in the locker room. 

Harry Maguire played a crucial role in a game against FC Copenhagen

Plus, most of the players acquired by the Red Devils this summer are having a very bad time with adaptation. Injuries also complicate the life of the Mancunians, the most important loss is getting into the infirmary Lisandro Martinez. In the position of the Argentine ten Hag releases Harry Maguire, who is inherent to make a lot of mistakes.

In the off-season the team was reinforced with players that the coach knows well from Ajax and it seemed that now everything will get better. But MU started the season very badly. In nine rounds in the championship of England they suffered four defeats. 

The Mancunians beat the bottom of the standings Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (1:0), Nottingham Forest FC (3:2), Burnley FC (1:0), Brentford FC (2:1), and Scott McTominay scored two goals in compensated time. There was also a victory over EPL newcomer Sheffield United FC (2:1). 

As a result, the club occupies 8th place in the table with 15 points, falling behind the leaders by 11 points. It is also worth noting that MU scored only seven goals in five home matches in the EPL. For a team that does not hide its championship ambitions, this is simply a disaster.

In addition, the Devils have gotten off to a poor start in the UEFA Champions League. In three rounds of the group stage of the tournament, they lost to FC Bayern Munich (3:4) and Galatasaray (2:3). Then Erik ten Hag’s wards defeated FC Copenhagen (1:0). 

In the last UCL match Maguire became a hero, he scored the winning goal. But this is most likely a one-off. It should not be forgotten that the opponent was quite convenient. The scandalous goalkeeper also distinguished himself: just a minute before the final whistle, Andre Onana deflected a shot by Jordan Larsson from the penalty spot.

Manchester City News & Current Form: 

At the end of last season the Citizens won the treble. The victory in the EPL was their fifth in the last six seasons. For many years at the helm of Manchester City, Josep Guardiola has built an exceptional team with unparalleled ball control and the ability to beat any opponent.

But is everything going well for Guardiola’s team this season? On the one hand, two defeats in the league in the last three games plus a loss to Newcastle United FC in the League Cup (0:1). 

On the other, two wins in a row. In the Champions League the team earned nine points, and the task of reaching the playoffs can be considered almost solved. The head coach had set the task of getting out of the group after four rounds, now it is just necessary to beat BSC Young Boys on their field, which is not a difficult task after the away win over the Swiss (3:1).

Of the clearly positive trends only Haaland’s double. Erling finally scored, moreover, the second put beautifully in the top corner. Confidence is important for a forward, and the Norwegian seems to have lost his scoring touch. 

In his debut season at Manchester City, the striker broke the record for the number of goals scored in a single EPL season. In the last 100 matches at club level, he scored 96 goals and gave 19 assists.

Manuel Akanji got sent off in a game against Brighton due to a red card

In nine meetings in the current draw of the championship of England Erling Haaland scored nine goals. During this period of time, Guardiola’s wards lost only to Wolverhampton (1:2) and Arsenal FC (0:1). In all other meetings they won.

Pep Guardiola’s team managed to break the mini-series of defeats in the last round of the championship against Brighton and Hove Albion FC (2:1). However, they had to pay a high price for it, as the main defender Manuel Akanji got a red card. As a result, City is on the second line, having scored 21 points in nine rounds, the gap from Tottenham Hotspur FC is two points.

Last season, the Citizens in general were behind Arsenal for a long time, and in the end celebrated another victory. Another thing is that with the team’s near-perfect performance, outside observers are always looking for something to hang on to.

 Sometimes you get the impression that City can only lose to themselves, and the pest is the coach, who wises up with schemes and the interaction of players on the field. 

Because of this, the Champions League final was lost to Chelsea FC in 2021, and Inter Milan looked more interesting than Guardiola’s team in the 2023 final. Kevin de Bruyne, the brain of this team, is out due to injury.

The last match between the two Manchester teams was the most memorable, because they played in the Emirates FA Cup final, and in case of defeat City could forget about the dream of treble. 

Manchester United form guide: W-L-L-W-W-W

Manchester City form guide: L-L-W-L-W-W

Manchester United vs Manchester City Head-To-Head Record:

• November 6, 2021: Manchester United 0 – 2 Manchester City (Premier League);
• March 6, 2022: Manchester City 4 – 1 Manchester United (Premier League);
• Ocotber 2, 2022: Manchester City 6 – 3 Manchester United (Premier League);
• January 14, 2023:  Manchester United 2 –  1 Manchester City (Premier League);
• June 3, 2023: Manchester City 2 – 1 Manchester United (FA Cup).

Manchester United vs Manchester City Predicted XI:

Manchester United’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Reguilon; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.

Manchester City’s possible starting lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Silva; Doku, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland.

Statistical preview of the match Manchester United vs Manchester City:

• United’s First XI average age is 26.8 years, City’s First XI average age is 26.4 years.
• The total value of the Devils’ squad is 877 mln euros, while the Citizens’ squad has a value of 1.26 bln euros.
• Paul Tierney has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served seven games this season, showing an average of 4.29 Yellow Cards and also whistles 19.57 fouls per game. 
• Manchester United scored an average of 1.40 goals per game in their last 5 games and conceded an average of 1.20 goals per game.
• In the last 5 games, Manchester City conceded an average of 1.20 goals per game and scored an average of 1.80 goals per game.
• Manchester United average 6.62 corners per game, while Manchester City are averaging 6.27.
• Manchester United collect an average of 2 yellow cards per game, while Manchester City get an average of 1.73. 
• Manchester United became the champion of England 20 times in its history, the last such success took place in the season 2012-2013.
• Scott McTominay has 3 goals to his credit, he is the team’s top scorer.
• After seven rounds, Guardiola’s team has conceded the least goals in the championship, just 7 goals.

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Red Devils Erik ten Hag about his team’s progress and goals:

“At this moment City are six points ahead, we’re six points back, we have to catch up. We know we have to progress the team, make developments. It has to do with the cooperation, the movement around it, we have to work on that.”

“The cooperation has to click, but we showed this week some examples where there are so many we have overload positions, going in overload position to the opponent’s goal and we don’t net or don’t even hit the target. We don’t have time to train this, we give some coaching and I’m convinced with the quality of our players that they will go and score more goals.”

“I think it’s a match that is so huge because it’s Manchester, it’s internal, but it’s also about world football. All eyes will be on this game globally. That’s definitely to see we are back where we wanted to be, this is a hard team to beat. They find a way to win, we’re going in the right direction.”

“You give Onana the standards and also the expectations, but also it’s about getting to the same level. He has high expectations from himself. We give him the confidence, look what you did in the past for great clubs in great leagues, you have the ability and the skills. The last two games were good progress, now we have to keep this going. It’s very good but at Manchester United good is not good enough.”

Coach Pep about playing on Old Trafford and Manchester derby:

“Old Trafford, when I was in Barcelona or Bayern Munich and I traveled to England it was always special. It is a special place and here it is special for our fans.”

“It is a game not like an FA Cup final or last games of the season that defines winning or not the Premier League, still we have only played nine fixtures and there are 87 points to play. We have to be focused.”

“United always have been – it doesn’t matter the manager – always they are a tough opponent. The qualities of the individuals they have, the stadium, the character they have, the momentum. They can score goals, we know the quality they have. Always that has been and always it will be. It’s too early. All the teams are there and the teams behind can be there.”

“When you play just nine games many things will happen, we were behind by a few points in February and March and then we were able to win.

“I want to see how our mentality is on Sunday in Old Trafford. We have won a lot, it’s not about if we win now what is going to happen. It’s not about that. I want to see the right mentality to play for these points.”

Manchester United vs Manchester City Prediction:

Manchester United have a three-match winning streak, yet all the victories have not come easy. The Red Devils made a comeback in stoppage time against Brentford, and against the main outsider Sheffield United the winning goal was scored in the final period of the game. In the Champions League, the state of things is not bright either, the team was saved from another failure by Onana, who deflected a penalty in the final stretch of the game. Following the above chronology, can we consider MU ready to face their fierce neighbours? Hardly.

Man City look much more favourable even with the loss of their main ball dispatcher De Bruyne. There are already too many perfectly integrated performers of all sorts in the squad. The motivation to improve their league position will infuriate the team, and even an intimidating and loud, packed Theatre of Dreams is unlikely to prevent the Sky Blues from taking their chances. Although it is worth considering that in the previous EPL campaign, City lost to United at Old Trafford, the work on mistakes has certainly been done, so expect a confident victory from Pep Guardiola’s men. 

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Manchester City will win and the goal total will be over 2.5 – Yes.