Roy Keane makes Manchester derby prediction as he sends warning to Man Utd

Roy Keane has warned Manchester United that they must tighten up defensively if they are to avoid defeat in this weekend’s Manchester derby.

The Red Devils head to the Etihad on the back of last Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Fulham, another performance and result that increased the pressure on Erik ten Hag . Manchester City, meanwhile, have won 16 of the last 18 and netted six in the midweek FA Cup win over Luton Town.

Unsurprisingly, City are heavy favourites ahead of Sunday's derby, and Keane admitted he is worried his former side could be in for a difficult afternoon.

“You’d have to fancy City and United had a poor result last weekend. Recently United have been very easy to play against,” the Irishman said on ITV, following City’s 6-2 win at Kenilworth Road. 

“If United keep giving up the sort of chances they have in the last month or two then City will punish them. Hopefully a good Manchester United will show up and put in a good performance but they’ll certainly be up against it.”

City were very much at their best offensively against Luton, with Erling Haaland scoring five and Kevin De Bruyne providing four assists. Typically around this time of the year, Pep Guardiola’s side kick into gear and end the season with silverware, and Keane feels that could be the same again this season.

“I think, you look at what they’ve done over the last few years and the players and the manager, now with the big games coming up - United at the weekend - the top players smell it and know it’s big stuff,” he said. 

“These players have done it before and Pep is used to it. You saw him tonight and what it meant to him. Obviously there’s the disappointment with Jack [Grealish] getting injured, but that’s par for the course. He’s on about Haaland and De Bruyne getting up to speed.

“Not just physically, but mentally they’ll be fresh and they looked it tonight. Liverpool and Arsenal are getting a lot of headlines and rightly so, they’re playing some really good stuff, but I still think City will take some stopping.”

City are currently second in the table, just a point behind leaders Liverpool, but after last weekend's round of Premier League fixtures the top three have now played the same number of games. As for United, they are sixth and are eight points off the Champions League places.