It has been nearly 5 years since Manchester United last stood on the bench with Manchester City in the Premier League before a derby.
Back in December 2020, Man United and Man City drew 0-0 at Old Trafford, in the context of the world still being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This draw kept Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Man United in seventh place, 1 point and 1 place above Pep Guardiola's team. However, at the end of the season, Man City still won the championship, while Man United finished second.
The question is, what will both teams trade for to regain the form that once took them to the top? Ahead of the Etihad derby this weekend, Man City are struggling in 13th place. This is a strange ranking for them, while Man United, who finished 15th last season, are currently in 9th place.
Both teams have had a lackluster start to the new season. The "Red Devils" have only had one victory after the opening 3 rounds against rookie Burnley. In addition, they also had to endure another shock when Grimsby, the representative playing in League Two, eliminated them from the Carabao Cup.
Like Man United, Man City are also in the transition period, but their start has been even worse. After a 4-0 win in the opening match against Wolves, Guardiola's side suffered two straight defeats against Tottenham and Brighton. As a result, The Citizens were 6 points behind leaders Liverpool.
In that context, it is understandable that expectations from both sides of Manchester are low ahead of this derby. Although Man United just had a 3-2 victory over Burnley, they have twice lost the lead. They only escaped thanks to Bruno Fernandes' controversial penalty in the 97th minute.
Despite spending up to £230 million in the summer on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Diego Leon and goalkeeper Senne Lammens, Ruben Amorim's side have yet to shape their playing style. The Portuguese captain has always been on a fragile line when just one more failure is needed to fall into crisis.
On the other hand, Guardiola does not have to worry about his seat after nearly a decade of success. However, he really needs a victory to extinguish speculation about the crisis after a summer of saying goodbye to a series of key players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson.
One of the most notable highlights in this derby was the confrontation in goal. Gianluigi Donnarumma, a £26 million signing, will make his debut for Man City, replacing Ederson.
On Man United's side, the question of the number one goalkeeper is still open. As Andre Onana was preparing to join Trabzonspor on loan for the whole season, Altay Bayindir and new signing Lammens were forced to compete directly.
Although Lammens - a £18.2 million rookie - is considered a long-term choice, Amorim will likely rely on Bayindir. The reason is that his extensive experience will be more useful in the face of the huge pressure in the Manchester derby.
Both teams have suffered significant losses, which will certainly affect the quality of the derby. The Citizens are without Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovacic, while the possibility of Phil Foden, John Stones, Savinho, Abdukodir Kushanov and Josko Gvardiol playing is still uncertain.
On the other side of the front line, Cunha, Mason Mount and Diogo Dalot are all absent, forcing Amorim to disrupt both the defense and the attack. Ironically, in the last four encounters, Man City's only win over Man United came on the penalty spot in the English Super Cup last season.
Before that, the "Red Devils" won a dramatic 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, holding it to a 0-0 draw, then continued to beat Man City with a score of 2-1 in the 2024 FA Cup final under Erik ten Hag.
For Guardiola and Amorim, this was a match that neither of them could lose, and therefore a draw was perhaps the most likely scenario.
