Nov. 2021 Manchester derby: all you need to know

Manchester giants are set to lock horns on Saturday at Old Trafford in their first encounter of the 2021-22 season.

The United come to the derby as they defeated Spurs 3-0 in the Premier League and obtained a point against Atlanta in the UEFA Champions League. However, the memory of their humiliating 5-0 defeat against Liverpool at home still lingers both for the fans and the players.

The Red Devils have suffered seven home defeats in all 2021 competitions which signals their poorest run since 2001 when they lost seven games. Their worst performance in this regard goes back to 1989 when they lost eight games.

The home side will not have key defender Rafael Varane who has been sidelined for a month due to a hamstring injury and also Paul Pogba who is serving the second of his three-game ban after he received a red card against Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo seems ready for the match as his brace against Atlanta saved the team on Tuesday. The last time Ronaldo faced the Sky Blues while wearing United kits was in 2009 where they secured a 2-0 victory with the iconic player on the score-sheet. The Portuguese has played against the City on 14 occasions for Manchester United and Real Madrid respectively and has been on the winning side nine times, scoring an overall of five goals. 

On the other side, Pep Guardiola’s team come to the match after a decisive 4-1 victory against Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Earlier in the week, however, the reigning Premier League champions suffered a home loss to Crystal Palace in the league as well as a Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham which damaged their early-season confidence.

Manchester giants have played 185 times in their history. The United has won 77 games while the Sky Blues have secured 55 wins with 53 matches having no winners.

In their last four games in the league, the Red Devils are unbeaten against Man City (three wins and one draw) which is the longest run since that of six between 2008 and 2011.

On the other hand, Man City have won the United seven times at Old Trafford in Premier League history, making them stand beside Liverpool as best performers.

Technically speaking it will be a hard match for predicting its results and it’s a matter of hours before fans can get their rewards or wish to have tried free sports picks.

Norwegian coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær is under extreme pressure after the Liverpool thrashing and very well knows that any poor result back in Old Trafford can persuade the club to take a more serious position on him.

Meanwhile, Guardiola said on Thursday he has not watched the Red Devil’s match against Atlanta as he was focused on Cityzen’s European campaign. “I know how good they are, we saw it last season. They have one of the best players in history – a guy who can be a scoring machine,” said the Spaniard.

Manchester City and Manchester United sit in the third and fifth place of the table respectively with 20 and 17 points from 10 matches. Chelsea lead the table with 25 points.