One of the most anticipated matches of the Premier League season takes place this week when Manchester United welcome rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford. Not only is the presence of stars, the rivalry of the two teams promises to bring a spectacular and dramatic competition.
MU is experiencing prosperity after going through a crisis a few weeks ago. Accordingly, they have won the last 3 consecutive matches, even with minimal differences, but will more or less help Ten Hag teachers and students improve their morale.
However, this week’s opponent will be on a different level compared to recent Brentford, Sheffield or Copenhagen. This is Pep Guardiola’s Man City, the defending Premier League champion and Champions League team.
One very bad thing for the Red Devils is that they have to meet Blue Man when their opponent has just regained form. After losing all 3 matches without Rodri due to suspension, The Citizens won the last 2 matches when he returned.
Besides, their number 1 star Erling Haaland is also in full swing after quenching his thirst for scoring in C1 since April with a double against Young Boys. And when he comes to Old Trafford this weekend, Man City’s number 9 definitely wants to extend his scoring record.
But perhaps not Haaland, the biggest threat to Man Utd is coach Pep Guardiola. Opta’s statistics show that he has truly been the Red Devils’ enemy since moving to the Premier League.
Specifically, Pep is the coach with the highest win rate against MU in the Premier League with 50% (7/14 matches – only counting coaches with more than 10 confrontations). He is also the coach who has won the most matches against the Red Devils in the national championship, only after Arsène Wenger (12).
In a total of 3 confrontations last season, Pep Guardiola’s Man City won against MU twice and only lost one match because of a rather sensitive ball.
But remember, the last time the two teams met saw a victory for The Citizens in the FA Cup final. That was the match where Pep read the perfect strategy to stifle the Red Devils from getting up.
Despite having home field advantage, it is clear that Man Utd is not the favorite in this Manchester derby. According to Opta, Man City has a 50.8% chance of winning 3 points compared to only 22.5% for MU.
Ten Hag’s team clearly wanted to win another sweet victory to pay tribute to the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton who had just passed away. But to get that, MU will have to try harder than 100% to make it difficult for Man City. The Red Devils’ fulcrum will still be Old Trafford, where they won against The Citizens the last time they welcomed them.