Current Premier League Standings

Manchester City is having the best start a team has had in a Premier League season during the Premier League era. After 12 games, City has won 11 and drawn 1 with 34 points on top of the league table.

Manchester United are the team closest to Manchester City in the title race, behind by 8 points already. United have won 8 games from their 12 and sit on 26 points. This game will directly influence whether City will run away with the title or not. United needs to win for them and other teams keep up the pace with the potential champions.

Head-To-Head

These sides are yet to face each other in the 2017/18 campaign. Their last encounter (in April 2017) ended 0-0 in the Premier League. The upcoming Manchester derby fixtures are as follows:

Manchester United vs Manchester City (10th December 2017)

Manchester City vs Manchester United (7th April 2018)

Form

City has created the most chances this season and has outscored opponents more often than not. City has scored 40 goals this season while conceding only 7. United have scored 27 goals (13 less than City) while conceding 6 goals.

United has seen the likes of Paul Pogba (suspended now), Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rojo return from long-term injuries. These players will need to be fit for United to get anything from this derby game.

Key Players And Statistics

Goals: Lukaku has been United’s key player this season with 8 goals. He went 6 games without scoring and scored in his last PL outing. Martial is United’s most impactful player off the bench. Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero have scored 8 goals apiece this season and will look to continue their goal-scoring form.

Assists: Henrik Mkhitaryan has 5 assists (highest for United) this season but I doubt he will start this game. Silva (8 assists) and de Bruyn (6 assists) lead the assist table for Manchester City.

Predicted Result

Although City has the tendency to score many goals, this game will be slightly conservative with both managers vying to avoid defeat. Predicted full-time result 1-2 to City.