English Premier
2025-09-14 - Manchester City vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 14th September 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester City
Everyone expects a bounce back season from Manchester City after falling short of the recent standards set in 2024/25 and there was plenty of people talking about them after the 0-4 win at Wolves on the opening weekend. Some of the pundits and talking heads on television and radio proclaimed that result proved Pep Guardiola's team were ready to return to challenging ways, but the follow up has been extremely disappointing.
Despite the huge investment made in January and in the summer, Manchester City are 13th in the Premier League table and with just 3 points on the board. This already creates some pressure on the squad that will be keen to avoid falling too far behind leaders Liverpool this side of Christmas, while Manchester City are chasing their first home points of the new season this Sunday.
Manchester City have conceded twice in losing to both Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton in the last couple of Premier League fixtures and the excitement after the win at Molineux has certainly dipped. The side had ended last season with 5 consecutive Premier League home wins, but that was ended in the 0-2 defeat to Spurs last month.
Omar Marmoush returned from international duty with an injury that could keep him out for a few weeks. He is added to a long list of players with doubts around them including Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, Savinho and Phil Foden. Rayan Cherki spoke about his excitement about facing Manchester United when signing for City, but he is expected to be absent until November. New signing Gianluigi Donnarumma could make his debut.
Manchester United
There is always going to be a lot of noise around a club of the stature of Manchester United and so it felt very important for Ruben Amorim to see his team score a late Penalty to deservedly beat Burnley two weeks ago. Failing to do that just days after being Knocked Out of the League Cup by League Two Grimsby Town would have amplified the volume around the manager, but it has been a relatively calm international break.
Things will not be any easier over the next month with the fixture list throwing up some big games for Manchester United, although the lack of European Football means they can fully prepare for each of the four fixtures to come. They are up into 9th place in the Premier League table with 4 points on the board after the late win over Burnley, but expectations are high and this is a position that would fall short of those.
Manchester United were beaten by Arsenal on the opening weekend, but they have not lost any of their next 3 games in all competitions in normal time. Winning football matches is what the club demands though and so it was very important to earn a first victory of the season ahead of the September international break. Manchester United could not hold onto the lead at Craven Cottage last month and that means they have not won any of their last 6 away Premier League games.
Diogo Dalot, Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha all need to be evaluated before this fixture. Andre Onana has been moved on and the big decision for Ruben Amorim is whether he is willing to throw in new signing Senne Lammens in goal for his debut at the Etihad Stadium.
Head to Head
Manchester United took four points from the derby games in the Premier League last season.
They are now unbeaten in 4 against Manchester City in all competitions in normal time.
Manchester City had beaten Manchester United 3 times in a row at home, but that run was ended in December 2024 when United scored two late goals in a 1-2 victory.
Prediction
Despite all of the recent successes Manchester City have had, it speaks volumes about the overall stature of the two clubs that there has been a lot more ink spilled to talk about Manchester United in the opening month of the new season.
With all that said, it probably surprises many that Manchester United actually have more points on the board compared with Pep Guardiola's team through the September international break.
Manchester United's performances have certainly been a bit more convincing this season, even if the results have yet to back that up, and Ruben Amorim's team could cause problems here. They do need Benjamin Sesko to get up to speed and would be happier if Matheus Cunha is also passed fit, but there are counter attacking opportunities for Manchester United in this fixture and they have pace and ball-carriers that can cause plenty of problems.
We have seen Tottenham Hotspur do that at the Etihad Stadium this season and consecutive Premier League defeats is a concern for Manchester City fans.
There has been an element of misfortune about the defeats to Spurs and Brighton, but Manchester City displayed a vulnerability last season and in the Club World Cup this summer which has seeped into this campaign.
Before 2024/25, Manchester City had an aura about them, but that looks to have dissipated and it leaves them exposed.
Injuries are certainly not helping right now and Pep Guardiola will be hoping a few of his players can be passed fit to offer him more options. Erling Haaland has started off well enough and scored five goals against Moldova in a World Cup Qualifier during the break, but Manchester City look very short in the derby considering they have not beaten Manchester United in the last 4 attempts.
Two of those has been with Ruben Amorim managing Manchester United, including the 1-2 win here for the visiting team in December.
As mentioned in the opening weekend preview, Manchester United have reserved some of their better performances against the stronger clubs and they certainly gave Arsenal plenty to think about. This Manchester City team is not nearly as strong at the back, even with Gianluigi Donnarumma potentially making his debut, and it would be a real disappointment if Manchester United are beaten easily.
For all of the poor results under Ruben Amorim, it should be noted that Manchester United have rarely lost by more than a single goal margin when playing away from home under this manager.
The early results may not have been that impressive, but there have been some positive signs from Manchester United and they may just have enough to secure a good result here.
Taking the full goal on the Asian Handicap may be the best approach though with the stake returned if United are to lose the derby by a single goal margin, especially as it would be a real setback if Manchester United are not competitive throughout this one.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester City 1-1 Manchester United
