Manchester City crisis puts rivals United’s malaise in the shade ahead of Sunday derby

IT would have seemed inconceivable at the start of the English Premier League (EPL) season that by the time the first Manchester derby rolled around, it would be manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City enduring a crisis so serious it has distracted much of the attention from Manchester United’s ongoing malaise.

That has really taken some doing. After all, United sacked manager Erik ten Hag in October, parted ways with sporting director Dan Ashworth earlier this week after just five months, and currently sit 13th in the table under new manager Ruben Amorim.

The Red Devils’ dismal 3-2 home defeat by Nottingham Forest last weekend underlined the size of the task that Amorim faces during his tenure at Old Trafford.

And yet, it is City’s amazing meltdown which is the main talking point ahead of Sunday’s (Dec 15) clash at The Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola’s side have won just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions, sit fourth in the EPL standings, eight points behind the in-form leaders Liverpool, and are in real danger of a humiliating exit from the Champions League after the group stage.

Beset with injuries to key players and drained of confidence, City’s 2-0 defeat by Juventus in Italy on Wednesday had some pundits declaring the end of Guardiola’s golden era.

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“We just have not seen a Pep Guardiola side in general ever be this bad. He has to find a way of galvanising this team and reinstalling some form and confidence,” said former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. “They are under real pressure now.”

All things are relative, of course. Since United last won the EPL title in 2013 in what was Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge, City have won it seven times – six under Guardiola, including the last four.

City still possess a squad full of serial winners. Guardiola, having signed a two-year contract extension, is also hardly likely to walk away or be shown the door any time soon.

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The Spaniard is not immune to criticism though and City fans will demand a speedy return to business as usual, starting with the visit of United on Sunday.

“Of course, I question myself in the good moments and the bad moments. I was stable in the good moments and I’m stable in the bad moments,” Guardiola said after the defeat in Turin left his side in 22nd place in the 36-team Champions League group.

Sudden fragility

United have conceded a total of 13 goals in their last three EPL visits to their local rivals and will be wary of being on the receiving end of a City backlash.

But the Red Devils did beat them in last year’s FA Cup final and will believe they can feed off City’s sudden fragility which has seen them concede 21 goals in all competitions since the start of November – more than any other club in Europe’s big five leagues.

Before City and United battle to restore some lost pride on Sunday, Arne Slot’s Liverpool will return to EPL action with a home game against Fulham on Saturday.

Last week’s postponement of the Merseyside derby because of stormy weather allowed second-placed Chelsea to reduce the Reds’ advantage to four points, albeit now having played a game more.

Liverpool maintained their 100 per cent Champions League record on Tuesday by beating Girona 1-0, although the overall performance was not to the Dutch coach’s liking.

Slot has set very high standards already and Fulham are likely to be in for a long and difficult afternoon at Anfield.

Chelsea – who have just returned from an arduous 16-hour round trip to Kazakhstan in the Conference League after beating Astana 3-1 with a team largely made up of reserves – host Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. This match promises to be chock full of goals with the two clubs already having scored a combined 66 this season.

Third-placed Arsenal, who are six points behind Liverpool, are fresh from beating Monaco in the Champions League in mid-week and they host Everton on Saturday.