The second Manchester derby of the season takes place on Sunday, with Manchester United welcoming (so to speak) Manchester City to Old Trafford.
A dramatic late comeback saw United run out 2-1 winners in December’s reverse fixture, and now Ruben Amorim will look to become the first Red Devils boss to do the double over City since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (who scored over 100 goals for Manchester United) in 2019/20.
Building up to the big game, we’ve selected some key stats for you to pore over…
United still lead the way
Despite their rivals’ recent dominance in this fixture, Manchester United remain well out in front in terms of all-time derby success.
The Red Devils have won 80 of the 195 meetings to date – beginning with a 5-1 victory in the very first encounter in the first qualifying round of the 1891/92 FA Cup – with Manchester City triumphing on 62 occasions.
There have been 52 draws between the sides, though only one in the last 15 Premier League meetings – a 0-0 at Old Trafford in December 2020, which was played behind closed doors amid Covid restrictions.
City looking to gather more momentum
Man City are aiming to record three straight wins in all competitions for the first time since the turn of the year, after beating Bournemouth 2-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Leicester 2-0 in the league.
Pep Guardiola’s men haven’t won three on the bounce against top-flight opposition since late October, though, a mark of how uncharacteristically inconsistent their season has been.
Victory could see City leapfrog Chelsea into fourth and strengthen their Champions League qualification chances; defeat could mean they drop out of the top five altogether.
Amorim feeling the strain
Man United are up against it in their bid to avoid their lowest-ever Premier League finish. As things stand, they sit 13th, a fair bit lower than their previous worst Prem finish of eighth under Erik ten Hag last season.
United haven’t placed as low as 13th since 1989/90 – although they did win the FA Cup that campaign. They’ve not placed 13th or lower and not won silverware since 1973/74, when they were relegated from the old First Division.
After Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, Ruben Amorim acknowledged that he is under pressure; now would be a good time for his team to beat a Premier League opponent outside the bottom three for the first time since January.
