The Manchester Derby is this Sunday and if recent history is any indication, it will be one of the most important matches this season in regards of deciding who wins the Premier League title. Forget that this is a derby with two teams who despise each other, a win here can vault one team closer to the title as well as hurt another rivals chances. We covered why Manchester United needed to beat Man City, here is why Manchester City need to beat Man United.
Manchester City is all alone in first place, two points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United who are 2nd and 3rd respectively. If Manchester City wins, they will be five points ahead of their bitter rival and get a leg up on their bitter rival.
City runs into the town and title rival Manchester United at a rather inopportune time. Even though Man City is leading the table, United seems to have the advantage. The game is at Old Trafford and both teams come off of a Champions League midweek game, which can really test the depth of both teams.
And speaking of depth, Manchester City has had some injury issues. Amazingly, despite the injury issues, they have kept their winning ways. At least three Manchester City starters are out for Sunday’s game (Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Samir Nasri) and Vincent Kompany is likely to either come off the bench or be out of the game completely. But even though they are hurt, they haven’t lost since September 26 and have enjoyed a four game winning streak by a score of 15-4. Now in reality, they faced a struggling Borussia Monchengladbach team who replaced their manager already, relegation contenders Newcastle United and AFC Bournemouth and a struggling Sevilla team. It’s fair to say that they haven’t necessarily played a tough opponent. A win against Manchester United even with the injuries can calm those fears from Manchester City fans and be a huge shot in the arm once they do get healthy.
