Manchester United vs Manchester City Predictions

• City have won all but two league games this term
• Heading into the weekend, United have lost all four games against sides placed 11th or higher
• The Red Devils have scored in 10 of their last 11 games
• City have conceded in all but one of their last 11 matches

Is United’s mini-revival enough?

After winning their last two games, Manchester United still don’t seem to have lifted the toxic atmosphere surrounding the club. The Red Devils have beaten Sheffield United and Copenhagen after the international break, having claimed a narrow 2-1 win against Brentford before that.

That run still hasn’t eased pressure on Erik Ten Hag, while the nature of their victories has done little to boost confidence going into Sunday’s derby meeting with Manchester City.

Are Citizens being overshadowed?

While United are winning and still the focus of fire from pundits, Manchester City are arguably flying under the radar. They lost 1-0 at Arsenal without the suspended Rodri, but the Citizens have improved since his return to the team. They’ve beaten Leipzig, Brighton and Young Boys in that run, but the treble winners have been slightly overshadowed by good starts by Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool.

City’s dominance means it isn’t news when they’re good and it can be a crisis when they’re bad. The same can be said of Erling Haaland, who dared to drop slightly from his impossibly high standards. The Norweigan is considered to be a little off his best, but he’s scored seven times across his last seven league games, while he’s scored in three of his last four appearances for club and country.

We’ve seen City spend the autumn and early winter in cruise control before, kicking into full gear in the New Year. However, they are too good to underestimate and with the issues surrounding United the visitors are worthy favourites for this trip.

City to win high-scoring derby

City have Rodri back, but even with him, their defence is suspect. The Citizens have conceded in 10 of their last 11 games, including each of their previous six. Manchester United come into this game having found the net in 10 of their last 11 matches, so they pack enough scoring threat to trouble City.

There have been 20 goals shared across the last four meetings between these two sides, with both teams scoring in each. City have outscored United almost two to one in that run, hitting 13 goals to United’s seven.

The Red Devils haven’t beaten a side placed above 12th heading into this weekend, losing to the four highest-placed sides they’ve faced in the league this term. City have won all but two games in the league so far, so back them to come out on top in the derby. However, United are capable of getting a goal, so City and both teams to score stands out as the best bet.