4 hours Ago By [email protected] (Lewis Barton)
The first Manchester derby of the season takes place in the Premier League later today, with Manchester City welcoming Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium . If there was ever a time for United to face City, that time would be now, with City's 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League meaning Pep Guardiola's side have lost seven of their last 10 games across all competitions, winning just once in that time. On the other hand, a Rasmus Hojlund brace ensured United got back to winning ways midweek, with Ruben Amorim's side beating Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League .
Heading into the weekend, City sat eight points off top-of-the-league Liverpool who had a game in hand, so defeat against United later today could all but confirm their exit from the Premier League title race. Three points are just as vital for United though, with Amorim's side 13th in the league, eight points off the top four. READ MORE: Ruben Amorim will have to come up with a different plan to repeat Man City trick with Manchester United READ MORE: I was the forgotten Manchester United Class of 92 star - so I went to Man City and made history So, who could emerge victorious in the Manchester derby this weekend? Let's take a look.
Man City vs Man United score predicted To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We predict that City could line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic, Gundogan, Nunes; Grealish, De Bruyne; Haaland. We predict United could set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Amad, Mainoo, Casemiro, Dalot; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund.
City may not have been on top form over the last few weeks, but they sure were in the opening stages of this one, with Kevin De Bruyne picking out Erling Haaland in the box with a wonderful cross, leaving the striker the simple task of sliding in at the back post to fire home. Guardiola's side were on cloud nine as they made it 2-0 moments later with De Bruyne tapping in Jack Grealish's driven cross from close range, but the two-goal lead didn't last, with United pulling a goal back just after the restart. Matthijs de Ligt made it 2-1 (Image: EA Sports) United started the second half fantastically, testing Ederson multiple times in a short period as they looked to halve the deficit.
Bruno Fernandes earned a corner when his long-range effort deflected wide of goal, and from the resulting set-piece, Matthijs de Ligt beat Josko Gvardiol at the front post to power a header into the roof of the net. After pulling a goal back, United were dominant, and with 20 minutes to go, they drew level, with Hojlund getting the better of Ruben Dias before beating Ederson one-on-one. Amorim's side started to push for a third, but they seemed to get carried away, leaving themselves exposed at the back as City found the winner late on.
Erling Haaland scored a crucial goal at Old Trafford (Image: EA Sports) United found themselves on the back foot when a counterattack broke down on the halfway line, allowing Guardiola's side to start an attack of their own. Mateo Kovacic drove at the United defence before threading a pass through to Haaland, and the striker drilled the ball through the legs of Andre Onana to make it 3-2 in added time, securing a huge victory for City. EA FC 25 pre dicted final score: Man City 3-2 Man United What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments! Follow the MEN's United coverage on TikTok and YouTube , and subscribe to the Manchester is Red podcast.
