Manchester United head to the Etihad this weekend for the Manchester Derby, here’s what the pundits are predicting.
Erik ten Hag saw his side bounce back from defeat at the weekend with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United grabbed a massive win to progress into the FA Cup quarter-finals and regain some confidence ahead of a trip to the Etihad.
Manchester City are in superb form and locked in a title race at a point of the season in which they’ve historically [recent years] been unstoppable.
Paul Merson predicted a City win but thought the scoreline could be kept respectable, but now Chris Sutton has made his prediction which is a lot less respectable.
Chris Sutton makes brutal prediction for Manchester United vs Man City
Writing in his weekly predictions piece for BBC Sport, Sutton has predicted that United could be on the receiving end of an absolute battering as he decided on a 6-1 Man City win as his verdict.
He explained: “Manchester United found a way of getting over the line against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Wednesday.
“It was a really important win for their manager Erik ten Hag, but it was a scruffy one and it did not suggest that United are going to cause City many problems with Rasmus Hojlund out injured.
“This time, Ten Hag might try a tactic that has worked for United before against City, and go with split strikers, playing on the counter. It’s probably a strength of theirs, playing on the break.
“But United have got some key defenders out, as well as Hojlund, and how successful they are will depend on whether they can hang on in there during the long spells when City will have the ball.
“City will win, I’ve got no doubt about that. It’s just a question of how many will they score? If it clicks for City, and Kevin de Bruyne has said he feels like he is getting better by the game, then I just think they could run away with it.”
Erik ten Hag must get his team right this weekend to avoid a heavy defeat
We all saw how Fulham were able to repeatedly rip Manchester United apart last weekend, just as Luton Town had done the previous week.
The concern while watching these games was that against a better team with more devastating players, United could be in real trouble.
This weekend there is a chance that happens unless Ten Hag gets his team selection absolutely right.
Realistically, right now United cannot go toe-to-toe with City and therefore we are likely to see a style of football which was so successful against the noisy neighbours during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s time at the club.
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