Manchester City welcome neighbours Manchester United to the Etihad this weekend as they look to get their title charge back on track.
- Date: 14/09/2025
- Kick-off: 4:30pm
- Location: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
The Sky Blues come into this game with one win and two defeats from their first three games. City began the season with a thumping 4-0 win away at Wolves, which was followed by a 0-2 loss to Tottenham and a 2-1 defeat at Brighton, a pair of sobering defeats that really pile the pressure on the home side coming into this one.
It’s completely unprecedented for City to start the season with two defeats from three under Pep Guardiola and following on from a season without silverware in 2024-25, the signs are fairly ominous for the Catalan in what could be his last season at the club. Still, City will be buoyed by the fact their city rivals are in an arguably more ominous position, and they’ll be plenty confident about picking up three points here.
Guardiola will hope to be able to call upon Phil Foden, who is trying to shake off a foot injury, but Omar Marmoush, Savinho, Rayan Cherki, Josko Gvardiol, and Mateo Kovacic are all set to miss out. John Stones also faces a late fitness test to be involved.
Manchester United enter this game with one win, one draw and one loss from three games. Just three games into the season, Ruben Amorim is a man under serious pressure as his side have been displaying many of the signs that led to the worst Premier League finish in the club’s history last season.
A 0-1 loss to Arsenal preceded a 1-1 draw with Fulham and a 3-2 win over Burnley prior to the international break. United have shown some flashes of improvement but on the whole, the team is still vulnerable in many of the same ways they were last season, and there is still a feeling that Amorim is trying to fit square pegs in round holes with his team selections and system demands.
As far as this game is concerned, Amorim will be without new signing Matheus Cunha in what is a big blow, while Mason Mount is also touch-and-go to be part of the matchday squad, possibly leaving a major hole in the team's attack.
United are going to need some big performances from players who are yet to seriously make a mark for the club if they're to win here, and while it should make for an interesting game, we think the 'noisy neighbours" will pile yet more misery on Ruben Amorim.
