Who’s winning the Manchester Derby?
It has been far from a successful season up in Manchester for either side of the city, but a Man Utd vs Man City derby comes with a bubbling sense of excitement regardless. Such is the beauty of football, even though Man City are at risk of missing out on a top four finish and the Red Devils are lingering in the bottom half of the table, bragging rights are still up for grabs.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola will be looking to prove he is still football’s premiere tactician at Old Trafford on Sunday, while Ruben Amorim is still trying to make a name for himself in the English top flight. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know ahead of Man Utd vs Man City, including team news, predictions, and more.
Man Utd vs Man City
If there is one silver lining for Manchester United fans this season, it is that they won’t have to watch Man City lift a record fifth league title in a row. The Red Devils themselves won three titles on the bounce between 1998 and 2001, and again from 2006 to 2009. However, the fourth always remained elusive until Pep Guardiola’s Man City came along and lifted the trophy in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Man Utd looked destined to finish in the bottom half of the table this season, and the Manchester derby could not have come at a worse time. Ruben Amorim will be forced to name a strong starting XI against the club’s fiercest rivals, but Man Utd arguably have a more important game against Lyon in France on Thursday. Man City, on the other hand, need to keep picking up consistent results in order to beat the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle, and Brighton to CL qualification for next year.
The Venue
Old Trafford – Sunday 6 April. Kick-off: 16:30 local time
Man Utd are reportedly planning to build a brand-new 100,000-seater stadium for £2 billion, but Old Trafford continues to play the host for the time being. The iconic British stadium first opened all the way back in 1910, but has been renovated eight times since then. Old Trafford has hosted 94 Manchester Derbies over the years, with the Red Devils claiming 42 home wins, compared to Man City’s 26. Unfortunately, Man Utd have won just twice in their last five meetings at home against the Citizens.
Team News and Injury News
Let’s take a look at some of the team and injury news as we head into the final Manchester derby of the 2024/25 season.
Man Utd: Manchester United have been walking wounded for much of the 2024/25 campaign, and this week is no different. Lisandro Martinez – arguably United’s best defender – is out with a knee injury until 2026. Jonny Evans and Ayden Heaven are also carrying injuries at the back, while Harry Maguire recently returned from a knock. Leny Yoro is expected to return to training this week, while Luka Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo are both pencilled in for mid-April returns. Patrick Dorgu returned from his red card suspension this week too. Perhaps Man Utd’s biggest injury miss comes in the form of Amad Diallo, who has been such a bright spark in attack for the Red Devils this season.
Man City: Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri, remains a huge miss in the Man City midfield, although the Spaniard is set for a return in May. Nathan Ake and John Stones are also out injured until next month, while Manuel Akanji is scheduled for a return in late April. This leaves Pep Guardiola a little short of numbers in central defence. The big news this week is that their big striker is currently being assessed after picking up an injury in the cup game against Bournemouth. He was spotted leaving the stadium in a protective boot.
Players to Watch
Picking out a player to watch has been tough for Manchester United this season, especially since Amad Diallo’s injury. However, Bruno Fernandes has risen to the forefront in recent weeks, dragging the Red Devils kicking and screaming with his goals and assists. The Portuguese midfielder also has a decent record against Man City, scoring three and assisting two in his last 10 games against the Citizens, four of which were wins. In his last four PL games, Bruno has three goals and four assists, making him one of the most in-form players in the league. His battle against the likes of Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and Rico Lewis in midfield could well decide the result of the derby.
At the other end of the pitch, all eyes will be on the man who replaces Man City’s star striker. Will Pep put Phil Foden in a false nine role? Or will Omar Marmoush step up and lead the line? We believe it will be the latter, and the former Eintracht Frankfurt man looked at his dangerous best against Brighton before the international break. Marmoush has four goals and one assist since his move to the PL, but a shift to his favoured striker position could unlock his full potential in the Manchester derby, especially if he is surrounded by the creative talent of De Bruyne, Foden, and Silva.
Head-to-Head Record
There have been 185 Manchester derbies since the very first one back in 1881. In that time, Man Utd have claimed 75 wins compared to Man City’s 59 – with the remaining 51 ending in draws. The Citizens recently overtook their bitter rivals on the goals front, scoring 267 in this fixture compared to Man Utd’s 262. However, the top scorer in Manchester derby history remains Wayne Rooney with 11. In the last ten PL games between these two, Man Utd have managed four wins to Man City’s five. If the stats are anything to go by, we should get plenty of goals on Sunday. In the last ten PL meetings, a total of 33 goals have been scored, making for an average of over three per game.
Form Guide
Neither Manchester United nor Manchester City are blowing anyone away with their recent form. Heading into the international break, both clubs had just two wins from their last five league matches. Despite being down in the bottom half of the table, Man Utd have at least picked up a couple of draws in that time, while Man City have lost two of their last five. Things may not be straightforward for Pep Guardiola and co this weekend.
Potential Implications
Let’s be honest, with the size of these two clubs, the Manchester Derby should be deciding titles. That is not the case this season. Man City are fighting to finish in the top four and at least end the campaign with CL football for next year. Man Utd, meanwhile, can achieve nothing beyond clawing their way back into the top half of the table for the pure sake of pride. The Red Devils will be more focused on the two-legged EL quarter-final against Lyon next week. Lifting a European trophy this season would see Man Utd qualify for the CL themselves in 2025/26.
Predicted Line-Ups
Let’s take a look at how we expect Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola to line up their sides for the Manchester Derby on Sunday.
Man Utd: Onana; Maguire, Lindelof, de Ligt; Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mazraoui; Zirkzee, Garnacho, Hojlund.
Man City: Ortega; Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Khusanov, Nunes; Kovacic, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva; Savinho, Foden, Marmoush.
Man Utd vs Man City Odds
Betsmith is currently offering a wide range of odds on Man Utd vs Man City ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby!
Man Utdto win: 3.45
Draw: 3.75
Man City to win: 2.00
Last season, this fixture finished 3-0 to Man City and you can get odds of 20.00 for that to happen again. A Man City 1-0 win comes with odds of 10.00, 2-0 is 12.00, and 2-1 is 8.00. On the other hand, if you fancy Man Utd to secure a home victory, a 1-0 win to the Red Devils comes with odds of 14.00 or 2-1 will get you 11.00.
You can browse Betsmith’s full range of betting options for Man Utd vs Man City HERE.
Score Prediction
This is a tough one to call. Man City have been out of sorts this season, but Man Utd are all the way down in the bottom half of the table. The real question here is: will Ruben Amorim rest players for the Lyon game? It feels like an impossible scenario with United’s injury problems and the bragging rights on offer in a derby match. Despite all this, we are going for a shock Man Utd win against the run of play, masterminded by a Bruno Fernandes free-kick and a late assist for Hojlund.
Score prediction: Man Utd 2-1 Man City
Last Updated: 04.04.2025
