English Premier
2026-09-13 - Manchester United vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 13th September 2026 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
There have been some concerns with the fixture scheduling that means Manchester United had to play on Thursday in the Champions League before the Manchester derby on Sunday. Unfortunately these things happen to clubs chasing the biggest prizes and not many supporters will be allowing the team to make excuses ahead of time in the first really big fixture of the season for Michael Carrick and his staff.
Beating Sabah in the Champions League will have given the players a lift, but Manchester United will be looking to find some consistency in the Premier League. Becoming a regular name in the Champions League is the most immediate task for the club, who last played in that competition in the 2023/24 season, but Manchester United have made a disappointing start to the Premier League season with just 4 points secured.
Manchester United bounced back on Thursday after conceding with virtually the last kick of the ball at Hill Dickinson Stadium last Sunday in a 2-2 draw with Everton. The away form needs to be improved markedly if Manchester United are going to be operating around the top four places in the Premier League and having a deep run in the Champions League, but Old Trafford remains a strong hunting ground for the team. After the victory on Thursday, Manchester United have won 10 of the 11 fixtures played here under Michael Carrick.
Bruno Fernandes was seen limping out of the Stadium on Thursday, but it would be a massive surprise if he is not available. Luke Shaw missed out entirely and is a doubt, while Carlos Baleba and Matthijs de Ligt are hoping to return before the September international break.
Manchester City
Enzo Maresca will know that his methods are going to take a bit of time for the Manchester City players to take on board completely, but positive results will help that transition quicken up. They opened the Champions League with a solid away win at Porto thanks to Erling Haaland and Manchester City have picked up maximum points in the Premier League.
Only the Community Shield loss to Arsenal has been the negative for Manchester City early in the new season, but some will suggest the team have not been the most convincing through the wins. Easily the most impressive Premier League performance came at Selhurst Park in August when Manchester City crushed Crystal Palace 1-4.
Manchester City were a little wasteful in the 1-0 win over Coventry City last weekend, but that is part of a 4 game winning run in all competitions and the only fixture in which the side have not scored at least twice. They had ended last season without a win in either of the last 2 away games at Everton and Bournemouth, but Manchester City have won both away fixtures played under Enzo Maresca.
Nico O'Reilly is expected to be available, but Jeremy Doku remains a doubt.
Head to Head
Both Manchester derby fixtures were won by the home team last season.
Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford in Michael Carrick's first game in charge in January and they have lost 1 of the last 4 derby games here, while winning twice.
Prediction
The Champions League Match Day 1 schedule has offered Manchester City a couple more days of preparation time ahead of the first derby of the season.
Some at Manchester United have been frustrated by that fact, although Manchester City did travel to Portugal, but excuses are not going to cut the mustard.
Michael Carrick's team have been a lot more convincing when they have played at Old Trafford since he returned as manager in January, but this is another significant test. One of the big issues for the manager to address is the defensive problems that have seen Manchester United concede two goals in each of the opening 3 Premier League games in the 2026/27 season and also allowed Sabah to get into some very promising positions on Thursday.
Doing that against the Azerbaijan Champions may not result in punishment, but Manchester United cannot afford to give up the same opportunities to this Manchester City team.
Enzo Maresca is still trying to stamp his authority on the squad, but wins will help and having Erling Haaland up front means Manchester City are always going to score goals. They have created some very good chances in the first four competitive matches, but Manchester City have also allowed opponents to get into some very good looking positions and that could be an issue when facing this Manchester United attack.
When the Manchester derby is played at the Etihad Stadium, the goals tend to flow, but it is a surprise that only 2 of the last 8 at Old Trafford have finished with at least three goals shared out. None have moved beyond that total, but there is a feeling this derby could be different considering the early season form of both teams.
Having two days fewer preparation time is an issue, but this fixture comes so early in the season that it should not be the factor that prevents Manchester United from earning a positive result.
Manchester City look very short when you think of Manchester United's record at Old Trafford since January, although the visiting team will take confidence from their most convincing performance of the season coming away from the Etihad Stadium.
There is no doubt that the underlying numbers will show Manchester City have been the better defensive team by some margin, but Manchester United have an attack that can hurt the favourites.
Beating the 'noisy neighbours' for the third time in five seasons may not be quite achieved, but Manchester United are good enough to avoid a defeat in front of the supporters at Old Trafford. Scoring first would be advisable considering the problems at the back, but it does feel Manchester City are still in the learning phase of performing for a new manager and Manchester United are the best team they will have faced in competitive action to exploit that fact.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 2-2 Manchester City
