The Manchester Derby is a story that started all the way back in 1881 and it will have it 178th episode written on Wednesday evening, when the two rivals clash at Old Trafford in the Premier League. The reverse fixture was played in November and Manchester City won it 3-1 with goals from Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, while Anthony Martial scored for United. Last season the Citizens won 2-1 at Old Trafford, but the Red Devils got revenge with a 3-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium. Overall, Manchester United won the derby 73 times, while Manchester City have won it on just 52 occasions.
This is a very important match for Manchester United, not only because it is a derby but also because they are trailing Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal in the race for the top four. The Red Devils suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Everton last weekend, their sixth defeat in the last eight matches in all competitions. In fact, during that eight-game span United got knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League and also dropped out of the Premier League top four. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will probably make some changes to his starting eleven after the defeat at Everton, but he won't count on Antonio Valencia and Eric Bailly, who are still out injured.
This game is even more important for Manchester City, the defending champions could move up to the top of the table if they win it and then the title would be theirs to lose with three matches left in the season. The Citizens are currently two points behind leaders Liverpool but with Wednesday's match in hand, so if they win it they would get the title if they beat Burnley, Leicester and Brighton in the remaining matches. The Citizens got knocked out from the Champions League by Tottenham last week, but they got their revenge with a 1-0 victory over the Spurs in the Premier League at the weekend. Kevin De Bruyne picked up a knock during that match and he might be forced to miss the derby.
Probable line-ups:
Man United: De Gea - Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw - Herrera, Matic, Pogba - Lingard - Sanchez, Rashford
Man City: Ederson - Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy - B. Silva, Fernandinho, D. Silva - Sterling, Aguero, Sane
My prediction: Manchester City to win 2-0, the Red Devils are in terrible shape at the moment and the Citizens should be able to take advantage.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Man United win - 7.50
Draw - 5.00
Man City win - 1.44
04/24/19, 01:04:59 PM
