Manchester United vs Manchester City: Match Preview

Manchester United face off against Manchester City in Premier League action on Sunday as we could be set for another vicious affair at Old Trafford. Red Devils fans will be desperate for their players to show signs of light in this game after what has been a season to forget. They also have a chance to play upset for Manchester City's Champions League hopes for next season with the race for Europe seriously heating up. After what has also been a disappointing season for Pep Guardiola's side, Champions League football is a bare minimum, however with many clubs on their tail, three points every game is vital.

Premier League Form and Results

However, this was the best feeling United fans would have- losing to a 95th minute winner by Brighton's Joao Pedro the following week sent Ten Hag's team down a hole they dug too deep. They went on to win just three more games until Ten Hag's sacking following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham in late October in a match known as "El Sackico".

🚨Manchester United have only 27% of winning according to @PolymarketSport

Do you believe we can win against our rivals City tomorrow?👇 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/SL2AwJM9jg

— Manchester United Forever (@Utd_Forever7) April 5, 2025

They brought in highly-rated young manager Ruben Amorim in with the idea of building a project the Portuguese boss would lead. Unfortunately, things did not get much better for the red side of Manchester, suffering losses to Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, and Newcastle in the next month- although they did come out on top of the first fixture this season of the Manchester Derby. Coming up to present day, United fans seem to accept this season and new low of 13th place in the English top-flight.

United do however come into this clash with just one loss in their past eight games so will have spirits high and will have their sights set on completing the league double over Pep's City for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.

Manchester City

Their season started exactly how you would imagine for Premier League holders and favourites- up to the 26th October they had won seven and drawn twice, suffering no losses. They then had a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium- a ground they have a notoriously bad record at, having won just twice in seven attempts at the time. After this defeat, November was a month no City fan would want to remember as they suffered four defeats and a draw- even the draw was not positive as they conceded three goals in the last 15 minutes to draw 3-3 to Feyenoord.

It was not until the end of December did they get back on track, looking like their old selves and finally finding their identity again, looking dominant every time they step on the pitch. Since, they have only lost to the current top three Premier League sides and Real Madrid.

They will come into this match at Old Trafford looking to prove a point and assert their dominance in the Manchester Derby where they have really enjoyed going to since 2013, winning seven of their last 12 visits to Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Manchester United vs Manchester City: What Do The Stats Say?

Despite a poor season for their standard, Pep's side still sit second behind only Liverpool in terms of goals scored so far. It is no surprise to see Erling Haaland in the goals either, with the Norwegian a critical loss for this clash, as they will have to rely on Omar Marmoush to come up with the goods. The Egyptian however is no bad second fiddle as he has already scored three goals in his past three games in all competitions and has five top-flight goals in just eight games since arriving in January.

Predicted Lineups and Players to Watch

Manchester United Predicted Lineup (3-4-2-1): Andre Onana; Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro; Patrick Dorgu, Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Diogo Dalot; Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho; Joshua Zirkzee.

📹 Ruben Amorim on the team news to face Manchester City on Sunday. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/OucXW5A4m0

— UtdJoshua (@UtdJoshua03) April 4, 2025

Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez both missing out are massive losses for Amorim however Yoro has a big chance to prove himself in the back-three. Andre Onana will also definitely be one to watch, he is expected to face a lot of shots from Manchester City's frontline on Sunday and the Cameroonian will have to be on top of his game to give the Red Devils the best chance in winning. Fernandes has five goals in his last four games- which also earned him March Player of the Month, so he will also be a player who could have a serious impact in the outcome of this game.

Manchester City Predicted Lineup (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O'Reilly; Nico Gonzalez; Savinho, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku; Omar Marmoush.

As previously mentioned Haaland will be out for this game follwing an injury on international break. Three defenders Manuel Akanji, John Stones, and Nathan Ake are also absent for this match. Despite all these big name injuries, Pep Guardiola is still able to field a world-class team. Since Marmoush's arrival to the Etihad in January, he is placed above 99% of forwards in shot-creating actions with 5.04 per 90. He also takes 4.12 shots per 90, which is more than 98% of positional peers.

Where to Watch Manchester United vs Manchester City

The match between Manchester United and Manchester City takes place on Sunday 6th April and kicks off at 4:30pm local time. It will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football and highlights of the match will be available on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.

Manchester United vs Manchester City: Prediction

This match is very crucial for both sides- for the hosts it is important as it is one of their biggest matches of the footballing calendar and they would love to be able to claim Manchester, and clinch the league double. For City, they are still on track for Champions League football, however there are just five points seperating fourth and ninth so every single win is a must and for Manchester City Football Club it is an expectation to be in and amongst the biggest names in Europe.

Marmoush vs Onana will be a brilliant battle throughout, and this match is most likely going to be decided on key moments, and who takes the right choices at the right time. So for these reasons, I believe Manchester City will come out victorious with 2-1 margin.