Manchester City vs Manchester United: team & injury news, form guide, how to watch & head-to-head record

Manchester City host Manchester United in the Premier League this Sunday, with both sides desperate for points in their respective chases for the title and final Champions League spot.

Pep Guardiola’s men head into the game six points clear of Liverpool with a game in hand on the Merseyside club.

It’s also just over a month until Liverpool travel to the Etihad themselves, and maintaining that lead at the top could be imperative to City’s hopes of reclaiming the title.

As for the visitors on Sunday, their disappointing campaign could finish with a little less resentment should they manage to finish fourth.

At present, United occupy that spot above West Ham United, although the chasing pack of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur look a more immediate concern.

The Gunners are two points behind United having played three fewer matches, while Antonio Conte’s side would also move above the Red Devils should they take maximum points from the two games they have in hand.

But as with any derby, there’s much more on the line for both City and United. There’s bragging rights and pride on the line, particularly for the latter, with the champions’ comfortable 2-0 victory in November still a sore spot at Old Trafford.

It also proved to be the penultimate game for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was replaced two weeks later following a 4-1 loss away to Watford.

And if United are out for revenge, they should draw inspiration from their recent record at the Etihad, where they have won on their last three visits and only lost once in the previous seven games at the stadium.

The Red Devils’ 2-0 victory there last season even ended City’s 21-game winning streak in all competitions.

Therefore, both sides are out for revenge and have plenty to play for ahead of a hugely anticipated derby…

Team news

City will be without Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake for Sunday’s derby after both were forced off in the midweek FA Cup win over Peterborough United.

“Nathan and Ruben are not available for Sunday. The rest are ready. Cole Palmer feels better, can hopefully start to train with us in the next days. The rest are good,” Guardiola told reporters in Friday’s pre-match press conference.

Asked to expand, Guardiola said: “It happens during the season, maybe one of the best players one season was eight or nine months out like Kevin [De Bruyne].

“I would not love it, we need him. Ruben is massively important but he is not there; I am not going to cry.

“Nathan is injured again but I think it is less [time out] We have two central defenders. We have 15 players available. We’ve had 15 players for the last month and people say we were lucky with Covid. We just play and will try to fight and play good.”

As for United, Scott McTominay could be back in contention after he returned to training this week. The midfielder had missed the previous two games through illness, but Rangnick gave no update on whether the Scottish international will be in his squad on Sunday.

One name Rangnick did say might feature against City is Edinson Cavani. The forward has not played for the Red Devils since their 1-1 draw with Burnley last month.

“He [Cavani] is back in training since yesterday, today was his second training session with the team,” Rangnick said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“He looks good to be involved on Sunday, but there are still some question marks over other players. It looks good for Edinson for Sunday.”

Form guide

Despite the sizable gap between the teams in the table, they both head into the match in relatively similar runs of form.

City have amassed 13 points from their last six league games, just one more than United. For the Sky Blues, it’s four wins from those games, while they dropped points against Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.

But Guardiola’s men are flying in the cup competitions and beat Peterborough on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while they lead Sporting Lisbon 5-0 from the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie.

As for United, it’s no defeat in eight league matches, although there have been four draws in that period. While results have been relatively positive of late, the performances haven’t always reflected that, with United developing a habit of failing to play well over 90 minutes.

The Red Devils were also eliminated from the FA Cup by Championship outfit Middlesbrough last month, and drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid last week in the Champions League.

Head-to-head record

The teams have met 186 times over the years, with United boasting a better record of 77 wins compared to City’s 56. There have also been 53 draws.

In the Premier League, the teams will lock horns for the 50th time on Sunday. From the previous 49, it’s 24 wins for the red half, and 16 for the blue side, while there have been nine drawn matches.

From the 15 previous meetings since Guardiola took charge at the Etihad, the Catalan has a mixed record. He’s won seven times, lost six and drawn on two occasions.

How to watch

The game will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports and further information can be found here.

Plus follow ManchesterWorld for all the action live from the Etihad with analysis, reaction and player ratings after the final whistle.