Man Utd v Man City predictions: Red Devils can extend Old Trafford winning run

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester United v Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Manchester United
2pts 16-5 bet365, Hills

Betting offers

Paddy Power are giving away free bets to new and existing customers and all you need is an account. Sign up here
Sky Bet are offering new customers multiple free bets when they sign up. Click herefor free bets, money-back specials and BuildABet free bets
Betfair have lots of offers and money back offers. Sign up for a new account here
To get free bets from Ladbrokes today, simply sign up to a new account here
Don't have a Coral account? They have an offer for new customers here
New William Hill customers can claim free bets and benefit from their daily offers including Scratch Of The Day by clicking here

Team news

Manchester United
Diogo Dalot (thigh) is a doubt and Donny van de Beek (knee) remains unavailable.

Manchester City
Ruben Dias (thigh) is sidelined and John Stones (undisclosed injury) is a doubt.

Match preview

Nine successive home victories have enabled Manchester United to make progress across four competitions and the Red Devils' trend of Old Trafford excellence can be maintained by a derby win over Manchester City.

The talk has been of a two-team title race between City and Arsenal but United have edged closer to the conversation and would be impossible to ignore if they win their next three games at home to City, at home to Crystal Palace and away to the Gunners.

That they are anywhere near the Premier League summit is remarkable given their dreadful start to the season.

A 2-1 loss at home to Brighton and a 4-0 rout at Brentford indicated that United were going backwards and even suggestions of a top-four finish seemed overly optimistic.

William Hill are offering odds of 70-1 on Manchester United to beat Manchester City on Saturday. Click here to find out more

However, since the Brentford debacle Erik ten Hag's side have collected 35 points from 17 matches (only Arsenal have been more productive) and their best could be yet to come.

Cristiano Ronaldo's unhappy presence was an unwanted distraction in the earlier part of the season but United's revival can be traced back to a time when the Portuguese veteran remained at the club.

Ronaldo was on the scene when United registered impressive home wins over Liverpool (2-1), Arsenal (3-1) and Tottenham (2-0), so it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that his departure was the turning point in United's season.

However, it is certainly true that other players have enjoyed taking greater responsibility and none have seized their chance with greater enthusiasm than Marcus Rashford, who has netted seven goals in six games since returning from the World Cup.

Rashford was taken off after 59 minutes when United succumbed to a 6-3 derby defeat at the Etihad Stadium in October but his pace, power and rising confidence mark him down as a major threat to City's hopes of a league double.

The Citizens are warm favourites to register a fourth successive derby victory but their recent performances have been inconsistent and hopes of a trophy clean sweep were ended by a dismal 2-0 loss away to Southampton in Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter-final.

Several key players were left out at St Mary's but City's below-par display was not a one-off. They have dropped points in two of their last four Premier League games, losing 2-1 at home to Brentford and drawing 1-1 at home to struggling Everton, and they were far from convincing when winning 1-0 at injury-hit Chelsea in their most recent league fixture.

Pep Guardiola has been chopping and changing due to a combination of tactical and fitness considerations and has kept injuries to a minimum with only Ruben Dias maintaining a regular presence in the treatment room.

However, City's performances have been up and down and if they are below their best this weekend they are likely to fall short against their much-improved rivals.