Despite the fact that both teams are not shining this season, their matches always attract huge interest from all over the world. "Manchester City" will play at home against "Manchester United" in a match that could have a big impact on deciding the fate of the last Champions League spot. "Eurofootball.com" provides you with a review of the 171st Manchester derby.
"Manchester City" vs "Manchester United"
Match time and location: March 20 at 18:00 at the "Etihad" stadium in Manchester;
Referee: Michael Oliver;
Head-to-head history: "United" won 70 matches, "Manchester City" celebrated victory in 49 encounters, 51 matches ended in a draw;
Team form: "Manchester City" (2 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss), "Manchester United" (1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses);
Tournament situation: After 29 rounds, "City" is in fourth place with 51 points, while "United" is in fifth place with four points less;
Team news:
"Manchester City":
In addition to injured Samir Nasri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Fabian Delph after the Champions League match, Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi have joined the team. However, while the first may not appear on the field for the remainder of the season, there is a possibility that the latter may be able to play today.
"Manchester United":
"United" will still be without Wayne Rooney, Will Keane, Luke Shaw, and Phil Jones. There are doubts about three players' availability - Ander Herrera did not play in the Europa League on Thursday and it is uncertain if he will play in this match. Meanwhile, Ashley Young and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have returned to team training and if the coach needs their services, they could be included in this match.
Key facts ahead of this match:
"Manchester City" has won four of the last five league derbies, but they failed to win in both of their last matches;
"United" has won only once in the last five Premier League visits to the "Etihad" stadium (1 draw, 3 losses);
If City wins this match, they will secure their 50th victory against their eternal rivals;
In the last five matches between these teams, only two shots were made on target, and the match ended in a goalless draw;
City has only won once in their last five Premier League matches (1 draw, 3 losses);
In the last five league games at home, City scored four goals in three matches. In the other three, they scored only two goals in total;
Under Manuel Pellegrini, City scored 39 goals at home in the Premier League this season - after 29 rounds, no other team at their stadium had conceded at least ten goals less;
51 points after 29 rounds is the worst result for City in the past seven years;
42 of the 51 points earned by City have come against teams in the lower part of the table;
United has only earned one point in their last three outings, losing to Sunderland and West Brom during that period;
In their last eight encounters, United has won only once (3 draws, 4 losses);
Marcus Rashford has contributed to three of the last four goals scored by Manchester United in the league, scoring twice and providing an assist;
Sergio Aguero has scored eight goals in eight Premier League matches against United. He is three goals away from Wayne Rooney's best Manchester derby result.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
