On this evening, the first Manchester derby of the season will take place in the English Premier League.
At the "Etihad" stadium, the "Manchester City" team will welcome the footballers from "Manchester United", who, despite poor results this season, struck a blow to the London "Tottenham" team in the middle of the week.
"Man City", also not performing up to their potential this season, is considered the clear favorite in the match, but "Man Utd", even when showing their best form, has proven more than once that they can upset a potential favorite.
The meeting at the "Man City" fortress will start at 19:30. Here are some of the most interesting facts about the match:
This will be the 149th meeting of Manchester teams in the top league of the country. "United" celebrated 56 victories, "City" – 45, with 47 matches ending in a draw.
"Manchester City" achieved their first victory in the city derby last season, which was played at the "Etihad" stadium. Up until then, the "Cityzens" had failed to win in front of their own fans four times.
In the last season, the "Man Utd" club was beaten twice in the city derby – "Man City" triumphed with a score of 3:1 and 2:0. The last team to beat the "Red Devils" twice in a season by a margin of no less than two goals was "Liverpool" (1978-79).
"Man City" has so far only lost one match at home at the "Etihad" stadium to the "Wolves" team, during Pep Guardiola's era the team has never experienced two defeats in a season in the Premier League.
The "Cityzens" have already dropped five points at home before the first half of the season has ended – as many as in the entire 2018-19 season. Playing both at home and away, "Man City" has already lost a total of 13 points, whereas they lost only 16 in the entire previous season and 14 in the 2017-18 season.
The defensive problems of the "Man City" team have not allowed them to keep a clean sheet for eight consecutive matches in all competitions.
Gabriel Jesus, who scored two goals against "Burnley" in the last round, has not stood out at home since March – 10 goalless matches.
"Man Utd" has not lost in four consecutive matches in the Premier League – two wins and as many draws. This is the longest streak under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since he became the permanent manager of "Man Utd".
The away statistics of the "Red Devils" look much worse – in the last 11 matches, they have managed to win only once: six defeats and four draws.
Despite strengthening their defense with a record purchase, the "Man Utd" team cannot boast of positive results – "United" have conceded at least one goal in 12 consecutive away matches, the longest streak in 33 years. If "Man Utd" fails to secure a victory in the city derby, it will be their worst start (currently 21 points) since the 1989-90 season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team has not lost in their last five matches against the top half team – two wins and three draws. Four of these matches were played this season.
Marcus Rashford has scored nine goals in the last 10 matches for "Man Utd".
