Bruised and battered, fallen Manchester giants meet in low-stakes derby
City have only a top-four place to fight for; United seem destined to finish in the bottom half of the league table
RARELY has a Manchester derby – the iconic match involving the two biggest clubs based in this city in the north-west of England – felt as inconsequential as the one taking place at Old Trafford this weekend.
Not too long ago, Manchester United and Manchester City were among the handful of teams battling for the English Premier League (EPL) title, but this season both of them have failed to even mount any sort of challenge.
United and City have squared off in the last two FA Cup finals, though, with each side winning once. But it is in the league where the Red Devils and the Blues have performed far below their usual expectations.
Pep Guardiola’s City are currently fifth in the EPL standings, 22 points behind the soon-to-be-crowned champions Liverpool; Ruben Amorim’s United, meanwhile, are languishing in 13th place and seem destined to end the campaign in the bottom half of the table.
Bruised and battered, their injury-stricken teams are stumbling towards the finish line. There are eight more rounds to go, and next up is this derby to be played at United’s 74,197-capacity Old Trafford stadium on Sunday (11.30 pm kickoff, Singapore time).
Seeking a turnaround in fortunes
The Red Devils’ glory days may be long over, but one thing is for certain: The entire stadium will still be packed to the rafters with the club’s long-suffering supporters, desperate for a positive result that will lift the mood a little – even if it is just for a few days.
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They will be hoping that the 40-year-old Amorim, who has endured a chastening first six months on the job since he arrived from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, can somehow outfox Guardiola for a second time this season.
One of the best results of Amorim’s troubled stint took place a week before Christmas when United – trailing for nearly an hour at the Etihad Stadium – turned defeat into a win thanks to late goals from the captain Bruno Fernandes and the young Ivory Coast winger Amad Diallo.
United suffered defeat earlier this week, a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in which they peppered the Forest goal with nearly two dozen attempts on goal but failed to find the back of the net. Indeed, the 23 shots was United’s most without scoring in an EPL match since a defeat to Aston Villa by the same scoreline in September 2021, when they managed 28 shots.
Amorim does not have all, or even some, of the answers he needs to come up with a winning formula. Time is certainly not on his side and, if results do not improve soon, it would not surprise anyone if he is shown the door in the summer. “We knew that this season was going to be like this: win momentum, and then lose momentum. We continue going into the next match,” he noted.
Down, but not out
Like United, City’s form of late has been quite woeful, especially away from home. Guardiola’s players have only taken 11 points from their last 11 EPL away fixtures, with that run including just three wins against Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Tottenham Hotspur.
Earlier this week, City’s 2-0 home win over Leicester was their first in the league since that away win against Tottenham in February.
Last weekend, City booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, keeping alive their last chance to end the season with some silverware. In the EPL, however, City have relinquished their grip on the trophy that they have won for the last four consecutive seasons.
With star striker Erling Haaland out for the next few weeks due to an ankle injury, Guardiola needs the other attackers in his squad to take on more of the goal-scoring responsibilities.
One of them is Jack Grealish, who marked his first EPL start since December with his first goal in the league since 2023 in the midweek victory over Leicester. The 29-year-old England international has struggled with a lack of form and injury problems, but he said that he is ready to step up if given the chance to play more often.
“It was actually the same last year. I didn’t make the national team in March, and then I ended up playing a lot in April. I’m ready to be called upon,” Grealish said. “(United) beat us early in the season and that was a real difficult one to take. But we’re going (to Old Trafford) on the back of two wins and with a lot of confidence. Fingers crossed, we can make our fans happy.”
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