The big day has come - today in Manchester there will be a clash between two leading teams in the English Premier League. Manchester United will host the almost flawless Manchester City at their stadium.
The "Cityzens" have built up a solid advantage over their closest pursuers, but recently Pep Guardiola's proteges have seen a drop in their form and Jose Mourinho's army will try to take advantage of that. The match will take place at 18:30 Lithuanian time.
Form
Both clubs finished their performances in the middle of the week in the UEFA Champions League group stage, which went very well for both - they both advanced to the quarterfinals from first place.
Manchester United won their last match 2-1 against CSKA Moscow. In the Premier League, the "Red Devils" have been in great form - in their last five matches, they have won four times and only lost once.
J. Mourinho's team defeated London's Arsenal, Watford, Brighton, Newcastle, and only lost to London's Chelsea. In all these matches, "Man Utd" scored nine goals and conceded five.
In their last matches, the "City" unexpectedly lost to Shakhtar Donetsk, and that was their first failure this season, but it was in a meaningless Champions League group stage match where the main players did not play.
In the Premier League, Man City's form is incredible - they have won 14 matches and only once played to a draw. However, recently the "Cityzens" have faced difficulties and won their last three matches in the league by the same score of 2-1.
Under Guardiola's leadership, they have beaten West Ham, Southampton, Huddersfield, Leicester, and Arsenal. In those five matches, Guardiola's proteges scored 11 goals and conceded four.
In the standings, Man City is in a favorable position - with 43 points, they lead by 8 points over second-placed Man Utd. The latter must win in order to revive the intrigue in the title race.
Team News
Manchester United will be without Paul Pogba for this match as he received a red card against Arsenal and is now suspended. Eric Bailly and Michael Carrick are also out due to injuries, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Phil Jones are ready for the game.
Manchester City have injury concerns with Benjamin Mendy and John Stones definitely out, but Vincent Kompany and Fabian Delph's participation is uncertain.
Predicted starting lineups:
Manchester United: David De Gea; Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Marcus Rojo; Antonio Valencia, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Ashley Young; Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku.
Manchester City: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Danilo; Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, David Silva; Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling.
Interesting Facts
Manchester United have lost seven of the last 12 city derbies in the English Premier League, when previously they had only lost that many in 45 matches.
This will be the first time since April 2013 that these two teams face each other as neighbors in the league table.
Under Jose Mourinho, Manchester United have only lost one match at Old Trafford in 42 matches. They have won 30 times and drawn 11.
Mourinho's team has won their last four Premier League matches - the best streak in 11 months.
Manchester City equaled Arsenal's Premier League record from the 2001-02 season by winning 13 matches in a row in the last round.
Manchester United should beware City striker Sergio Aguero - the Argentine has scored at least one goal in his last nine away matches.
This season, Guardiola's team has demonstrated an impressive attack - in 15 matches, they have already scored 46 goals. Man Utd is the second-highest scoring team with 35 goals.
