Will the Sky of Manchester remain Blue or will it turn Red with essence of United all over?
An eagerly-awaited Derby is surrounding the skies of Manchester with every passing second. The biggest game of this season has come to the Theater of Dreams as this game will decide on future of Manchester City to be nightmarish or it becomes an everlasting journey.
Coming off from a lackluster performance against Everton, Red Devils will face a side resurgent and unwilling to give away points. With five games in sake games, Man City are better than ever.
We can’t expect Manchester United to be woeful as they were if they fancy giving the visitors a task for their travel. The 44th Manchester Derby promises to be younger and lucrative than ever because it will be the first time Pep Guardiola’s Tiki-Taka that will face an Alex Ferguson trained manager.
By running its EPL win streak to 10 games on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Tottenham, Man City still controls its own destiny in the title race. With just four fixtures remaining it’s come down to the two betting favorites and these guys have a list of the sportsbook’s to check out prior to betting. Whether it’s City are now -175 favorites to edge Liverpool (+135) and defend their crown. Those fading City will point out that they play three of their final four away, while Liverpool plays two of its final three at Anfield.
But there is a sharp contrast in quality between City and its remaining opponents. Their toughest match is the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
When and Where?
Date: Wednesday, April 24
Time: 20:00 (BST)
Venue: Old Trafford
Team News
The absence of Luke Shaw was purely evident in a defensively hurt Manchester United that had lost 4-0 to Everton. After serving a 2 match ban, Luke Shaw is available to strengthen the defence.
The long-time absentees Ander Herrera, Antonio Valencia and Eric Bailly are yet unavailable due to injury. Scott Mcctominay has impressed one and all with his illustriously physical performances which makes him a sure start alongside Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in the midfield.
As for the visitors, the utterly talented midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is unavailable after limping off against Tottenham. Fernandinho, though is back which is a major boost to defensive quadrant of City.
The experienced lads like David Silva and Vincent Kompany have proved their mettle every time they have been asked, which may kind of please Guardiola to start them.
Head To Head
The 178th meeting between two Manchester clubs will also be their 44th Premier League derby which in the last fixture (reverse fixture) was conquered by Blues of Manchester with a 3-1 victory.
The inimitable past of United gives than an upper head when it comes to head to head wins with 72 wins as compared to 53 of City. However, over the last half-a- decade, City has been the one to announce victory over their arch-rivals and this time may be no different.
Predicted Line-up
Manchester United XI– De Gea; Lindelof, Smalling, Jones, Shaw; Pogba, Matic, McTominay; Rashford, Lukaku, Martial
Manchester City XI– Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Stones, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Gundogan, Foden; B. Silva, Aguero, Sterling
MUST READ: The players to look out for in Manchester Derby
