Man City v Man United: Where to watch, odds, form, team news, stats & verdict

Premier League: Manchester City v Manchester United

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

Match odds

1-3 Man City, 9-1 Man Utd, 9-2 draw.

Form

Both teams come into this derby following impressive midweek results as Manchester United recorded a deserved 2-1 success over Tottenham on Wednesday, 24 hours after Manchester City made light work of a potentially tricky trip to Burnley.

That 4-1 victory at Turf Moor was only City's second win in their last six matches in all competitions and the champions face an uphill task to claw back a whopping 11-point deficit on leaders Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola's side have at least scored 21 times in their seven home Premier League games and are rightly considered short-priced favourites to land the Manchester derby spoils.

United have won three of their last ten Premier League matches and their only top-flight road win this term came against Norwich. Indeed it is their only away league victory since the start of March.

Team news

Ilkay Gundogan is back from suspension and Oleksandr Zinchenko is nearing a return from a knee problem. Sergio Aguero is not expected to feature, while Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte are still out.

Anthony Martial picked up a "slight injury" against Aston Villa last Sunday and will be out "for a little while" but Paul Pogba, Marcos Rojo and Nemanja Matic are nearing returns.

The tactical battle

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went with a back five in the last derby and tried to use Jesse Lingard as a front man alongside Marcus Rashford but that Old Trafford fixture ended in a 2-0 defeat in April as United managed 36 per cent possession and one shot on target.

He also used three centre-backs in the last league away game - a shambolic display at times in the 3-3 draw at Sheffield United - so it would seem unlikely Solskjaer would attempt to use that shape again.

Mason Greenwood could come out of the line-up after starting against Spurs, allowing Rashford to go through the middle and then either Luke Shaw or Andreas Pereira come in to offer a bit more defensive resolve if Pogba and Matic remain sidelined.

City seem certain to go 4-1-2-3 with the more mobile John Stones likely to partner Fernandinho at the heart of the defence to deal with Rashford's counter-attacking pace.

Verdict

United put plenty of effort into denying Tottenham space in an energetic performance and it could be difficult to repeat that given such a short turnaround from Wednesday against explosive opponents.

City have suffered plenty of bad luck this term but remain one of the best sides in Europe and can land the spoils for half-time full-time double-result backers. 3-1.

Key stats

• Both teams have scored in Manchester City's last eight games
• City have scored 33 goals in their 11 home matches this season
• United have won only one of their last 11 league away fixtures
• The Red Devils have been awarded seven Premier League penalties this term

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