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Manchester United will play Manchester City in the 186th edition of the Manchester derby on Saturday.
United and City are separated by three points in the Premier League table. A win for The Red Devils at home will move them level with the holders. United are fresh off a 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur last week. Meanwhile, City slumped to a shock 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace in their last league outing.
Will momentum trump form? The 'Ole out!' chants were on in full tilt only ten days ago after United were thumped 5-0 at home by Liverpool. However, the Manchester derby has been one of the biggest games, especially in English football, in recent times.
Considering the history of the Manchester Derby and the two teams' star-studded rosters, an exciting game could ensue on Saturday. On that note, here are four key battles that could determine the outcome of the game:
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) vs Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest big-game players of all time. So his duel with his compatriot Ruben Dias could well determine the outcome of the Manchester Derby on Saturday.
Ruben Dias has been the spine of the Manchester City defence along with Aymeric Laporte, helping the team keep five clean sheets this season. However, defensively City have not been on top of their game in the last few outings.
They have conceded in three of their last four league games. While Dias leads his team in blocks and clearances per game, he is lagging in terms of interceptions. That could hurt him against his Portuguese teammate Ronaldo on Saturday.
Ronaldo is yet to set the Premier League on fire since his return, but is still almost single-handedly carrying his team and manager across competitions. This high-intensity, high-stakes game is exactly where he could sizzle and shine the most.
Ronaldo has had four goals and an assist in the Premier League this season. His returns can be termed underwhelming, considering the staggering numbers he tends to put up.
He broke his four-game scoreless run in the league by scoring against Tottenham Hotspur last week. He is coming off a brace in United's Champions League draw at Atalanta in mid-week, so his form is as red-hot as they come. That essentially means Dias could have his job cut out to keep his national team captain quiet on the night.
#3 Jack Grealish (Manchester City) vs Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
Jack Grealish has not been able to replicate his Aston Villa form from last season since arriving at Manchester City this summer. However, he has excelled in other aspects of his game.
Grealish has drawn the most fouls from his opponents (2.4 per game). He has also contributed the most key passes (2.9 per game) ,and completed the third-most dribbles (1.8 per game). If only he had had a striker he could have given the ball to.
Manchester United's defence, meanwhile, has been very porous. Over ten league games this season, they have only kept two clean sheets. One came against Spurs last week, while their other one was in their third league game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka has played every minute of every league game so far, making the right-back position his own. He is leading the team in interceptions (1.4 per game) and is second in tackles (2 per game).
If Solsksjaer uses the same formation he employed last week, United should field a back three. That would help them employ one more defensive player to share Wan-Bissaka's workload.
#2 Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) vs Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes has been a key player for the team since his arrival at Old Trafford almost two years ago.
The midfield talisman has scored more goals (4) than his Manchester City counterpart Bernardo Silva (3) this season. He has also tallied more assists this campaign compared to his counterpart (3 to 1). Fernandes (2.7 per game) has takes more shots per game compared to Silva (1), and has also played more key passes (3.7 per game to 1.3) than the City player.
However, Silva has completed more dribbles per game (1.9) than Fernandes (0.8) this season. He has also made more tackles (1.7 per game to 1) and twice the interceptions (0.6 to 0.3) Fernandes has tallied this campaign.
Essentially, the two play very different roles for their teams. Fernandes' job is to look for attacking partners up front and hook them up with long balls. On the contrary, Silva looks to keep the ball flowing from back to front with the silky fluidity Pep Guardiola wants out of his team. Simply put, they are as different as apples and oranges, in terms of roles executed for their teams.
However, the performances of the two generally impact how their two teams generally fare. This will not be as direct a battle as the others on the list, but maybe the most important in terms of morale. That makes the duel between the two players an enticing one on Saturday.
#1 Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) vs Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is one of a handful of managers to have a winning record against Manchester City's Pep Guardiola. In eight games against Guardiola, the Manchester United tactician has won four and lost three.
Solskjaer has always had a history of coming good in big, crunch matches. That is especially the case when he has his neck on the line, as evidenced in the game against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the Spurs win, the Norwegian is still not out of the woods.
Meanwhile, Guardiola is one of the greatest managers of all time and maybe the greatest tactician too. But he tends to overdo things, overthinking opponents and setting up far more complications than necessary. Perhaps, that explains his losing record against Solskjaer.
Both United and City are pretty evenly matched in resources and motive. So it remains to be seen which man comes out trumps on Saturday in what could be an enticing tactical battle.
