For the first 20 years of the Premier League, the Manchester Derby was barely even a contest as United swept to title after title under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Now, however, Manchester City vs Manchester United is one of the fixtures of the season – a game that guarantees drama and on Sunday affords the red half of the city the chance to derail their noisy neighbours’ title plans.
Premier League leaders Manchester City have looked (slightly) more fallible since their 12-game winning streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw against Southampton in late January. A 3-2 home defeat to Spurs – their second of the season to the North London club – a fortnight ago was followed by a narrow 1-0 win against struggling Everton. That said, Guardiola’s death by a thousand passes mantra remains tough to beat.
Fourth in the league, Manchester United have lost just once since their interim German boss replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in early December, but a list of tame draws are indicative of their stuttering form. Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes have looked good of late, though, while youngster Anthony Elanga has also impressed. And, it would be just like Cristiano Ronaldo to turn up against the bitter city rivals who nearly signed him last summer.
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