THE PULCHRITUDE OF THE MANCHESTER DERBY
The right for the Manchester gasconade lightens up on Sunday at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ is arguably, the biggest derby in England, the Manchester Derby.
The rivalry between both sides has become intense over the past few
years, from the Fergie/Mancini years, Louis Van Gaal/Pellegrini and currently, the philosophical rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola for United and City respectively.
Both teams have faced each other 174 times in all competitions, with the Red Devils winning 72, City 50, and 52 draws apiece.
United go into the derby on the back of an emphatic 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League and 2-1 victory over Russian side, CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
City, meanwhile, were also in action, against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night, losing 2-1 but they are still in a formidable form nonetheless, still wheeling an unbeaten run in the league and prior to Wednesday’s defeat, they had won twenty consecutive matches in all
competitions.
One of the beauties of the Manchester derby is its widespread viewership, which has made it the biggest club derby
game in Europe after the spanish ‘El Classico’.
Last season’s derby at the ‘Theatre Of Dreams’ was massive for the Premier League as the fixture was played at a time when access to footage from the game has never been greater, with the Premier League confirming what it calls its “household reach” standing at a record 901 million, a figure that does even not account for multiple viewers in many of those homes or people watching in pubs and clubs.
This figure will definitely rise this season, especially with both sides leading the race for the Premier League title. City sit top of the table with 43 points while United are second with 35, just 8 points below.
City has been struggling of late relying on late goals to fight back from deficits. United, however, his rearing at the a full throttle but they need maximum points from ‘The Derby’ to significantly shrink the gap between them and their opponents before the thoughts of a ‘post Fergie-era’ first Premier League title.
However, they’ll have to do this without French midfielder Paul Pogba
who sent off against Arsenal after he sank his boot’s spikes into the back-kneel of Hector Bellerin.
Ander Herrera should take his place alongside Nemanja Matic. Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford should flank Lukaku in the 3-4-3 formation that has featured against Watford and Arsenal.
Jose also confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovich has a ”big chance” of feauturing while Phil Jones and Marouane Fellaini have a chance of being named amongst the substitutes.
City should line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Fernandinho sitting in from of the defence while Silva and De Bruyne roam as the two attacking midfielders operating in the hole behind the lone striker which should be Sergio Aguero.
United started tentatively which gave City a foothold when they met here last season, and need to start on the front foot. United played at home on Tuesday while City travelled to Ukraine on Wednesday, fatigue will certainly be a factor and United has marginal advantage in that aspect, even though City rested key personnels on Wednesday.
By: Timothy Dehinbo
