1
Manchester United return to Premier League motion with an away day on the Etihad versus Manchester Metropolis.
The Purple Devils have performed 196 occasions in opposition to the blues, profitable 80.
There have been 62 victories for Metropolis and a complete of 54 attracts between the 2 sides.
Listed below are three plotlines to dig into earlier than the match tomorrow afternoon.
Sturdy Etihad file
Such has been Manchester Metropolis’s dominance within the Premier League since Pep Guardiola grew to become supervisor in 2016, it’s generally laborious to recollect United have really carried out fairly nicely on the Etihad.
There have been some humbling moments just like the 3-6 defeat in 2022 beneath Erik ten Hag however United do higher than most groups do in opposition to their fierce rivals.
The BBC report that “Manchester United have inflicted 25% of Pep Guardiola’s whole residence Premier League defeats as Man Metropolis supervisor, with the Purple Devils profitable 4 occasions there in opposition to the Spaniard (4/16).”
As well as, “they’re in search of consecutive wins on the Etihad for the primary time since March 2021 once they received 2-0 beneath Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Good omens for away aspect in Manchester derby
Often residence benefit is a large a part of any sport, particularly derbies.
For instance, United haven’t received at their different nice rivals stadium, Anfield, since 2016.
Nonetheless, each the Purple Devils and the Residents appear to desire taking part in away from their very own followers on this explicit matchup.
“Since 2015-16, the house workforce has ended on the profitable aspect in simply six out of 20 Premier League conferences within the Manchester derby (4 attracts, ten losses). Certainly, since then, the one Premier League fixture to see extra away wins (10) is Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (12).”
As an example, United beat Metropolis 2-1 on the Etihad final yr however haven’t overwhelmed them at Outdated Trafford since January 2023 in one other 2-1 victory.
Bruno Fernandes will doubtless be key
At any time when Man United do nicely, there’s normally a robust efficiency from captain Bruno Fernandes, however that is even more true within the huge video games.
The Portuguese, like lots of his teammates, fell flat within the Europa League remaining versus Tottenham Hotspur and his workforce misplaced the large match.
Fernandes has additionally scored in every of United’s final three wins in opposition to Man Metropolis within the competitors (March 2021, January 2023, December 2024).
He additionally performed a chic move to help Kobbie Mainoo’s aim within the 2024 FA Cup victory and scored a penalty within the 1-2 loss within the 2023 remaining to the identical opponents.
Featured picture Jan Kruger by way of Getty Photographs
Observe us on GrabFacts: @Grabfacts