On November 6, 2021, Manchester City visited Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the first Manchester derby of the 2021-2022 season and City defeated United 2-0 away from home. Then, 49-year-old Norwegian coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjæ was still in charge of Manchester United.
In the reverse Premier League fixture, Manchester United will visit the Etihad Stadium to take on their local rivals on Sunday, March 6, 2022. The match is scheduled to kick off at 17:30.
Even though it has been over three months since Manchester United and Manchester City faced each other, not much has changed at City. Coach Pep Guardiola is still in charge of the club and they are still topping the Premier League table.
Also, Pep Guardiola and his boys have continued to enjoy a prolific form as they only suffered a defeat (at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur), in their last 15 games in all competitions.
On the other hand, Manchester United’s form has improved so well that they have managed to record just a defeat in their last 15 games even though they recorded a couple of draws in between.
So, it is safe to say, the second Manchester derby for the 2021-2022 season will be one of the toughest to predict based on the forms of the two Premier League giants.
City v United 🔜#ManCity pic.twitter.com/Kf9pQGcJZh
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 4, 2022
Manchester City vs Manchester United: head to head
It might be difficult to say who will win the Manchester derby on Sunday without considering how the two teams – Manchester City and Manchester United have performed against each other in recent times.
Statistics have shown that United are not pushovers when it comes to Manchester derbies. For instance, coach Ralf Ragnick’s men have won four consecutive leagues and cup away games against City for the first time since a four-match streak between 1993 and 2000.
The streak was broken in November and City are attempting to beat United home and away this season. If Guardiola succeeds in doing the league double over United, that will make it the second time he would do so. The first time he did it was during the 2018-2019 season.
Interestingly, Sunday’s fixture is the 50th Premier League meeting between Manchester City and Manchester United. In the 50 league games, 21 of them ended in an away win which means that there is a fair chance for United.
The good news is that the current coach of City has recorded four home defeats at the hands of Manchester United which is more than against any other opponent in his coaching career.
🚨 Ralf Rangnick's latest team news has landed ⬇️#MUFC | #MCIMUN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 4, 2022
What is City and United’s current form
Aside from knowing how Manchester United and City perform against each other, another important way to determine who will win the Sunday derby is to know their current form.
It might interest you to note that Manchester City have won 21 of their 27 Premier League games this season. They have recorded three draws and three defeats.
They won three games and suffered a home defeat in their last four Premier League games this season.
On the other hand, Manchester United are currently enjoying eight league games unbeaten run (four draws and four wins) which is currently the highest run without a defeat in the Premier League.
After the 0-0 away draw with Leeds United in April 2021, Manchester United have been scoring at least a goal in 20 successive away games in all competitions which means that United are expected to score on Sunday.
Prediction:
Based on our analysis above, the game will be a very close one and both teams will be very careful not to make mistakes. But it is expected that Manchester City will see more of the ball.
After 90 minutes, we expect that Manchester City that are trying to maintain a six-point gap between them and second-placed Liverpool will drop points.
Final scoreline: 1-1
