TEAM FORM AND PLAYERS TABLE
“Manchester United”
The defeat of Brentford with a score of 0:4, the passivity of the attack, the circus in defense, the mockery of Eric ten Hag – all this is long behind us. Since the start of the season, Manchester United have changed a lot, so much so that their game is now ranked as the best game since Alex Ferguson’s departure.
Photo source: IMAGO
Manchester United won eight in a row with a goal difference of 21:4, thanks to which the club passed the cup stages and also rose to fourth place in the English Premier League. Four points for City, nine points for leaders Arsenal.
“Manchester City”
Manchester City also got off to a good start in 2023, beating Chelsea 5-0 on aggregate, but the most surprising was a 2-0 cup loss to Southampton. Pep Guardiola can now focus on the more important Premier League and Champions League, where MS have a chance to win.
Photo source: IMAGO
However, even a win over Manchester United and a loss to Arsenal in a side game will reduce City’s gap to just two points.
INDICATIVE COMPOSITIONS
“Manchester United”
Eric ten Hag has not only been transforming the club in a big way lately, but he has also done it successfully with individual players. For example, the Dutch coach started using speedy full-back Luke Shaw in central defence, where he had some quality matches with Rafael Varane. Whether ten Hag will continue to rely on such a combination in the MS match is a question, but most likely yes.
It is also worth noting Marcus Rashford in the Mancunians, who scored in six games in a row. The English striker has recovered from all his injuries and has received a lot of confidence from ten Hag, instantly making him one of the top scorers in the Premier League right now.
In doubt is the participation of Diogo Dalot, who received a slight injury. If he doesn’t have time to recover, Wan-Bissaka will appear on the right flank.
“Manchester City”
Pep Guardiola himself gave Southampton a chance by producing not the strongest possible team, but the most familiar and combative starting set of players out there against Manchester United.
The most unusual starting character will be 18-year-old Rico Lewis, but he justifies all the confidence of Guardiola, thanks to which he even began to displace Kyle Walker from the base.
STATISTICS AND FACTS
⦁ In the last three Manchester derbies 16 (!!!) goals were scored, 12 of which were scored by City players;
⦁ Since beating Liverpool, Manchester United have collected 35 points (11 wins from 15 games), more than any other Premier League team in this period;
⦁ For Pep Guardiola, this match will be the 500th in his coaching career. In 76% of all matches, his teams won;
⦁ Marcus Rashford hasn’t scored a single goal in the last 5 games against City, shooting just 1 time on target;
⦁ United at Old Trafford have beaten Manchester City just twice in their last 10 games. The latest hit is dated 2020.
The match will take place on January 14 at 15:30 Moscow time. You can plunge into the atmosphere of the upcoming fight and follow the match live in the Ligi Stavok application. Here is a broad line and the most interesting results. For all new players, the betting company has prepared a great gift – a bonus of up to 10,000 rubles on the Wheel of Fortune!
