Manchester United vs Manchester City
Premier League 2018-19
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick-off: 8pm BST, tonight
Manchester City can take a major step towards securing Premier League title glory if they can inflict more misery on Manchester United in tonight’s pivotal derby.
Pep Guardiola’s side can move a point clear of Liverpool at the summit of English football with just three games of the season left with a win at Old Trafford.
Sections of United’s support would rather neighbours City win the title at the expense of arch-rivals Liverpool, who will be hoping for a major favour from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in their quest to end their 29-year wait for a league trophy.
That would require a sudden improvement from a United side who are ending the season in truly wretched form, however.
After a run of five defeats in seven, Solskjaer’s side slumped to their biggest defeat of the season on Sunday after they were taken apart by Everton at Goodison Park.
The Norwegian has made it clear that everyone within the squad is now fighting to save their future at the club. A response is needed.
Man Utd vs Man City team news and line-ups
Man Utd XI: de Gea, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford
Subs: Sanchez, Mata, Lukaku, Martial, Dalot, Romero, Matic
Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling
Subs: Danilo, Sane, Mahrez, Otamendi, Gabriel Jesus, Foden, Muric
Referee: Andre Marriner
Score prediction: Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City
Paul Pogba produced a critic-silencing performance as United claimed a huge victory over their neighbours last April.
He and the rest of the United squad need to repeat that trick to not only keep their hopes of a top four finish alive, but to ease some of the considerable strain that has fallen under Solskjaer since he was appointed permanent manager.
But such have been the dismal nature of their performances in the last few weeks, it is difficult to envisage any sort of turnaround before Solskjaer has the chance to wield the axe this summer.
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