Manchester United vs Manchester City: Premier League preview, team news, stats, predictions, TV channel, kick-off time | Football news

Team news, stats and predictions ahead of Man Utd v Man City in the Premier League on Saturday; kick off at 12:30 p.m.

Team news

Manchester United have defensive issues ahead of their Premier League derby clash with Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Raphael Varane faces a four to five week absence due to a hamstring injury sustained in the Champions League game against Atalanta, while Victor Lindelof faces a stroke fitness test that forced him to miss Tuesday’s 2-2 draw.

Paul Pogba is serving Game 2 of a three-game domestic suspension, but Fred is expected to return to midfield after being suspended in Italy.

City of man Center-back Aymeric Laporte is suspended after being sent off in last week’s loss to Crystal Palace.

Manager Pep Guardiola will also check on Kyle Walker after the England full-back suffered a foot injury against Club Brugge on Wednesday. City winger Ferran Torres (foot) is the only other notable absentee.

How to follow

Saturday 6 November 11:30 am

Kick-off at 12:30 p.m.

Man Utd vs Man City is live Sky Sports Premier League from 11:30 p.m. on Saturday; kick off at 12:30 p.m. Kelly Cates will be joined by Roy Keane, Graeme Souness and Micah Richards in the studio and Gary Neville on the porch with Martin Tyler for co-commentary.

Air sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Air sports website and app. Highlights will also be posted on the Air sports digital platforms and Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Watch all post-match analyzes and interviews on Sky Sports Premier League, and read the latest features, the reaction of experts and managers on the Air sports website and app.

The last time…

Jones Knows Prediction

I really wanted to make the case for Manchester United’s support by watching the 4/1 odds available for a home win. United are unbeaten in the last four Premier League encounters with City and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the only manager Pep Guardiola has lost to more than he won in his managerial career (minimum four meetings) with Ole hosting four wins against City. The Counterattack Style is one that City can fight against.

However, the running adage of never trusting a single run in isolation is firmly on my mind when evaluating United’s victory over Tottenham. As Roy Keane said, it was the perfect game for United against such a lackluster Spurs side. They will similarly settle with City on their pitch, hoping Pep’s boys continue to underperform in front of goal. This season, City are averaging their lowest number of goals per game (2.00) and have their worst shot conversion rate (11.2%) in one of their six Premier League seasons under Guardiola .

Despite the negative aspect of those numbers, two goals per game is still a huge average and their overall performance metrics are still going strong. Only Liverpool have a higher expected goal return per game (2.4) and show more shots per game (17.9), while City still average the most opposition area hits per game (40.4) – a key indicator that teams still struggle to live with Pep’s style.

And that’s exactly what’s going to happen to United, especially without the influence of Raphaël Varane. It may take a while for City to open the deep block, but I’m happy to support them to get there.

My main betting attack on the match will be centered on the performance of Joao Cancelo.

He is quickly becoming City’s most important actor in terms of creating chance as Kevin De Bruyne tries to rediscover his true self. His linkage game with Jack Grealish in the lower left is really impressive and gives the full-back plenty of room to work in the final third.

And once he’s in those dangerous positions he’s happy to shoot on goal, posting 15 in his last five starts in all competitions. With City set to dominate the territory, I would expect them to be close to maintaining that average in this game as well. This makes the 6/5 with Sky Bet for him to have two or more shots on goal worth taking. The 16/1 on him scoring from outside the box also deserves some consideration.

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-2

BETTING ANGLE: Joao Cancelo will have two or more hits (6/5 with Sky Bet)

Opta Statistics

• Manchester United are undefeated in their last four league games against Man City (W3 D1), their longest streak against them since a streak of six between 2008 and 2011.
• Manchester City have won seven Premier League away games against Manchester United, the most of any Old Trafford team in Premier League history (also Liverpool with seven wins).
• Man Utd have won three of their last four league games against Man City, as many as their previous 16 against them. They also kept three consecutive clean sheets against the Citizens in the Premier League, as many shutouts as they had recorded in their previous 18 against them.
• Manchester United have lost seven home matches in all competitions in 2021, their record since 2001, when they also lost seven. They have lost no more than seven at home in a single year since 1989 (eight).
• Manchester United have conceded at least once in each of their last 13 home matches in all competitions. They have only had once more goalless home games in their history – 21 games between April 1958 and March 1959 and 14 between September 1954 and February 1955.
• Manchester City have failed to score in three of their 10 Premier League games this season, already as many as they had in all of 2020-21. However, the Citizens have never failed to score in Saturday’s 12:30 kick-off since it became a Premier League regular fixture in 2016-17 (23 games).
• Manchester United are the only side to score a Premier League goal yet from a set piece this season, while Man City are one of two teams yet to have conceded on a free kick this quarter (also Wolves , excluding penalties).

• Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær has won four of his eight encounters with Man City boss Pep Guardiola in all competitions, the best win rate of any manager to face the Spaniard at least five times ( 50%).
• Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored three goals in his last five Premier League derbies at Manchester, with his last goal in his first stint with the Red Devils against Man City in May 2009.
• There have been eight red cards in 48 Premier League derby games in Manchester, with Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo being the only player to have been sent off more than once in the game (January 2006 and November 2008).
• Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has faced Manchester United more than any other opponent in his club career in all competitions (23). However, Sterling has yet to score against the Red Devils, despite 1,662 minutes and 38 shots (15 on target) in those games.
• Phil Foden has been directly involved in 14 goals in his last 16 Premier League away games for Manchester City (11 goals, 3 assists), scoring four times in consecutive away games but never three in a row . The only Man City player aged 21 or under to score in three consecutive away Premier League games was Gabriel Jesus between March and May 2018 (four in a row).

The Essential Football podcast: Manchester derby special

Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports football journalists Richard Morgan and Ben Grounds to discuss Saturday’s huge midday clash between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford.

PART 1 | How are the two rivals preparing for the big clash? We assess how Man Utd’s injury issues in defense might affect their approach, while we ask if Jack Grealish is living up to his hefty price tag and the reasons behind inconsistent form for the defending champions. Is this match now essential for them with Chelsea leading the Premier League?

PART 2 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a winning record against Pep Guardiola, so what’s the secret to his success in this rivalry? And how will the shock go on Saturday? We make our big match predictions!