Manchester United’s Premier League campaign is set to resume this weekend with a short trip to the Etihad Stadium for a derby with Manchester City.
Exactly 28 days on from United’s last outing in the competition, the 3-1 win over Arsenal, the Reds are scheduled to return to action in the competition with Sunday’s 14:00 BST kick-off.
The postponement of league matches against Crystal Palace and Leeds United, plus this month’s international break, meant the Reds have only played twice in the Europa League since that victory over the Gunners.
But this weekend’s derby is the start of a busy run for Erik ten Hag’s men ahead of the winter World Cup and the first of an unprecedented nine fixtures in October.
TEAM NEWS
Erik ten Hag is set to provide an update on how the United squad is shaping up following the international break during his pre-match press conference on Friday. You can follow live coverage of that on MUTV, ManUtd.com and in the United App.
Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both picked up injuries before the break and the boss will likely be asked about the availability of the forward pair for the derby. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek have also been sidelined of late, while Harry Maguire appears to have picked up an issue while on international duty with England. Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka returned early from Slovakia’s break due to a problem.
City have a similar problem with a Three Lions defender of their own, in the form of John Stones, who was substituted early in Monday’s draw with Germany. Club team-mate Kyle Walker, fit again after a muscle injury, replaced Stones in that match for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Aymeric Laporte and Kalvin Phillips have also been recent absentees, with the latter definitely ruled out for Sunday having recently undergone shoulder surgery.
FORM GUIDE
Sunday’s hosts are yet to be beaten in 2022/23 and have won each of their last three matches, most recently away to Wolves in the Premier League, before the international hiatus.
United bounced back following defeat in our Europa League opener with victory last time out at Sheriff Tiraspol on matchday two in the competition. The Reds can make it five wins on the spin in the Premier League this weekend, following recent triumphs over Arsenal, Leicester City, Southampton and Liverpool.
Sunday’s match will be the 51st Manchester derby in the Premier League, with United triumphing 24 times to City’s 17 (nine draws).
Our rivals unfortunately got the better of both contests last season, however, winning 2-0 at Old Trafford before a 4-1 success on their home soil.
The Reds’ last win in the fixture came in the prior campaign, a 2-0 result at the Etihad Stadium thanks to a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a Luke Shaw strike. That was one of five winning displays in our last eight trips to the Blues’ home ground (one draw).
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