By Alex Roberts
Funnily enough, Champions League qualification is still possible for both sides with Pep Guardiola’s side hoping to finish in the top four, potentially five should the Premier League secure an extra spot based on UEFA coefficient rating, while United’s only hope is through the Europa League.
The impetus is on City to win this game, and while they are the favourites, form usually goes out the window in the Manchester derby. It’s a cliché, but it will likely come down to who wants it more.
No Haaland, no problem
The big Norwegian will have to watch this, and potentially the rest of the season, from the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury in City’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Bournemouth last month. He will be missed, but his side have options.
Omar Marmoush is already looking like a quality piece of business for the current champions, scoring six goals in his 12 games across all competitions, five of which have come in the league.
He’s a different kind of handful to Haaland, instead of relying on brute strength, it’s smart movement and pace that makes Marmoush such an impressive forward. The United defenders may be glad to see the robot isn’t playing, but they can’t keep their eyes off his understudy.
Playing the hand he was dealt
It took Ruben Amorim roughly five months before he stuck Harry Maguire up top. Remarkably he accumulated more xG in added time against Nottingham Forest than Rasmus Højlund has in his last 15 appearances.
Amorim’s attacking options, other than Bruno Fernandes, simply aren’t good enough. Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are so bereft of confidence it’s unlikely they’ll get it back so long as they’re at the club.
He now faces the same dilemma that haunted Erik ten Hag. Does he deviate from his system to help accommodate players that can’t seem to grasp it in hopes of short-term success? Or does he stick with it, knowing it will likely get worse before it gets better? Perhaps he should have insisted on taking the job in the summer.
Going out with a bang?
It’s official, Kevin de Bruyne will be leaving Man City once his contract expires at the end of the season. He’s be departing with one hell of a legacy, winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and a Champions League, among others.
So, this WILL be his last Manchester derby, something we’re sure City fans across the globe were dreading. The Belgian has not been up to his own very high standards this season but no one at City has.
He was uncharacteristically invisible in the last derby as Fernandes and Amad Diallo secured a smash and grab win. There is a little more at stake here, and De Bruyne will no doubt be hoping to make at least one more memory for himself and the fans.
Prediction
This is one of the hardest games to predict in the Premier League but that won’t stop us. We reckon bragging rights will go to United, 2-1.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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