5 reasons why Manchester United could beat Manchester City | Premier League 2021-22
Arch-rivals Manchester United and Manchester City will renew their rivalry as they clash at Old Trafford on Saturday evening. It's a classic six-pointer with City sitting third in the Premier League table with 20 points while Manchester United are sixth with 17. A win is the need of the hour for both sides.
Last week, the Red Devils turned in an encouraging performance against an out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur, beating them 3-0. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had opted for a change of shape and United lined up with a three-man defence against Spurs.
However, they did struggle a fair bit against Atalanta in midweek, although Cristiano Ronaldo's heroics once again helped save their blushes. Manchester United came from behind twice to draw the game 2-2. It's been a testing few weeks for Solskjaer and his side.
Following the humbling they received at the hands of Liverpool, they cannot afford to lose against another rival. But Manchester United have reasons to be optimistic ahead of the Manchester derby.
Let's take a look at five reasons why Manchester United could beat Manchester City.
#5 Manchester City injury concerns ahead of clash against Manchester United
Both sides have their fair share of injury problems heading into the game. Manchester United will be without Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba. While the centre-back is out with a hamstring injury, Pogba is suspended after picking up a straight red card against Liverpool.
Varane will be sorely missed and Solskjaer will hope that Eric Bailly plays out of his skin once again like he did against Atalanta in midweek.
As for Pogba, Manchester United are unlikely to miss him much after his horror show in midweek. Coming to Manchester City, they will be without Aymeric Laporte, who is serving a suspension as well. Kyle Walker picked up a knock in the game against Club Brugge and might not feature here.
Manchester City have been vulnerable to counter-attacks this season. They have also not been able to negotiate long balls into their own half well enough to be confident of keeping the United attack at bay. Rashford and Greenwood have exploited this weakness of theirs in the past.
With two of their main defenders likely to sit this one out, the fixture might have just got a little bit harder for Pep Guardiola and co.
🏥 | INJURY NEWS
🗣️ Pep Guardiola: "We are going to review the players... especially Kyle [Walker] because he has a big kick in his foot."
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#4 Manchester City's inconsistency in attack
Another source of concern for Pep Guardiola will be the fluctuating form of his forwards. Pep Guardiola will have selection dilemmas when it comes to his frontline. He will need his players to maximize their chances in the derby but the Manchester City forwards have been far from consistent this term.
Raheem Sterling has been trying to get a look in and he just might after an impressive cameo against Club Brugge in midweek. However, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has proved to be an indomitable adversary for Sterling in recent meetings.
Jack Grealish had yet another quiet outing in midweek. Gabriel Jesus has been impressive on occasion but his productivity has not been anywhere near what's expected of him. Kevin De Bruyne is yet to hit his stride in the new season as well.
This Manchester United team performs best when their backs are against the wall. It is also interesting to note that City have not scored a single goal in any of their last three Premier League meetings against Manchester United.
🤪 Trevoh Chalobah has scored as many Premier League goals as Harry Kane and Jack Grealish combined this season (2)