For the first time in a long time, this Manchester derby will feature two Davids and no Goliath.
Manchester City will take on Manchester United on Sunday in what’s become one of the most celebrated rivalries in world soccer. But this clash takes on new significance this time: For the first time in 16 years, neither team is living up to fans’ expectations.
“We are sad. I am sad for the players,” said Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, at a prematch press conference on Friday.
Guardiola, a serial winner who’s widely regarded as the best manager in the world, is experiencing his worst run of form in his coaching career.
Manchester City, which has won six of the last seven English Premier League titles, has been victorious in only one of its last 10 games.
“We have to shoot more,” said Guardiola, whose team has been held scoreless in recent losses against Liverpool, Tottenham and Juventus. “We have to defend better,” said the Catalan coach, recognizing his team’s deficiencies. “We have to avoid mistakes,” he added, with his team sitting fourth in the Premier League table.
Meanwhile, misery is more commonplace in the other half of Manchester. Manchester United hasn’t won a Premier League title since the retirement of legendary manager Alex Ferguson in 2013.
The team currently sits in the doldrums of the Premier League table, 13th, after a dreadful start to the season under its previous manager, Erik ten Hag.
Hope may be on the horizon for United after its hiring of hotshot Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim. But Amorim’s new formation and style of play have produced sporadic results early on.
A disappointing draw against Ipswich Town in Amorim’s first game in charge was followed by a crushing 4-0 victory against Everton in the following Premier League match. The high didn’t last long, as losses to Arsenal and most recently Nottingham Forest turned delirium into depression for United fans.
“Both teams are struggling at the moment,” Amorim acknowledged at a prematch press conference on Thursday. “I cannot live it like a normal derby like it should be, two great teams fighting for the title, and it’s not that in this moment,” said the 39-year-old coach.
Underlying Manchester City’s struggles is the injury to its star defensive midfielder, Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, commonly known as “Rodri.”
“We are playing this season without the best player,” Guardiola said Friday of Rodri’s absence. The Spanish midfielder, who recently won the Ballon d’Or, a prize given to the best player in the world, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in September. He’s been ruled out for the remainder of the season as he recovers from the devastating injury.
Manchester United’s issues are wider-ranging, as evidenced by its position on the bottom half of the table. In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition.
“We are trying to build up a lot with the goalkeeper,” Amorim said of Onana’s most recent mistake, which saw him pass the ball to the opposition in Manchester United’s Europa League victory against Czech team Viktoria Plzeň. “We managed to help Onana like he did in the past,” Amorim added, dismissing the error’s significance in the context of a match United eventually won.
Despite the concerning play of both teams in recent months, they share a similar glimmer of hope: their strikers. Manchester City’s star forward Erling Haaland still sits jointly atop the Premier League top scorers list. The Norwegian has notched 13 goals 15 matches into the season.
Manchester United’s striker, Danish youngster Rasmus Højlund, has only two goals in the Premier League this season but has been finding the net in other competitions. Højlund has scored five goals in his last five games across all competitions, providing United much-needed firepower.
Prior to Manchester City’s 2008 takeover from the ultrawealthy United Arab Emirates royal Sheikh Mansour, Manchester United was the heavy favorite going into every modern Manchester derby.
Following Ferguson’s retirement from United in 2013, City has been the favorite.