Manchester City and Manchester United enter Sunday’s derby at Etihad Stadium in need of a positive result amid recent struggles.
City (8-4-3, 27 points) have won only once in their last 10 matches (1-7-2) in all competitions during a stunning slide that began at the end of October.
The league results have been marginally improved of late, with Pep Guardiola’s side posting a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Dec. 4 and recording a 2-2 draw vs. Crystal Palace on Dec. 7.
While Rodri remains out for the season, Kevin De Bruyne recovered from injury to make his first starts since mid-September in those matches. He had a goal and an assist in the win over Forest.
But the four-time defending champions still are uncharacteristically in fourth place in the league table — and eight points back of a leading Liverpool side that also has a match in hand. And a 2-0 loss at Juventus in UEFA Champions League play on Wednesday also puts City in peril of falling out of the 24 knockout-round places with two league phase matches left.
“The soul and spirit of this team is there,” Guardiola insisted this week. “I’m sad for the players because of the way they run and fight in the circumstances. And, of course, our fans maybe they’re sad (right now). I understand it — we’re not used to it.”
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim will manage his first derby fixture for 13th-place United (5-6-4, 19 points) since taking the reins last month.
The last time Amorim opposed City, he led Sporting Lisbon to a 4-1 home win in Champions League play in one of his final matches in charge of the Portuguese stalwarts.
Since his transition, he’s presided over only one win in four league games — a 4-0 thumping of visiting Everton on Dec. 1. in which Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee each produced a brace.
Rashford since has lost his place in the starting lineup under Amorim, who is no stranger to big derby clashes from his days managing Sporting and previously playing for their big Lisbon rivals, Benfica.
Amorim acknowledged his one may feel a bit different given both sides’ recent struggles.
“Yeah, I’m really focused on the details. I just want to improve the team, so I cannot live it like a normal derby, like it should be – two great teams fighting for the title,” he said. “And it’s not that in this moment. So it’s just one more game with a very good opponent. Both teams are struggling in the moment, so I hope, in the future, I feel that real feeling of a derby.”
–Field Level Media