The Manchester derby is yet to become the kind of global, Clasico-comparable event it was expected to morph into when Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of Manchester City in 2008.
There was that 2011-12 season, when Manchester United thought they had won the title until Sergio Aguero took it off of them with the last kick of the last game of the season, but after reclaiming the championship Sir Alex Ferguson retired and United have not been in contention since.
In a competitive sense, City versus Chelsea has been the bigger game in recent years and Tottenham and Liverpool currently look more likely to break that duopoly than United.
After a medicore first season at the helm, Jose Mourinho will hope to change that by splashing more money on players of Paul Pogba's ilk this summer, with Antoine Griezmann regularly named as the Red Devils' top target.
There will be major spending at City, too, who do not have any young, core pieces in defence at all beyond last year's £47.5 million addition John Stones.
As far as the two Manchester clubs' attempts to compete with the very best in world football go, however, both Mourinho and Pep Guardiola still have plenty of work to do.
There was that 2011-12 season, when Manchester United thought they had won the title until Sergio Aguero took it off of them with the last kick of the last game of the season, but after reclaiming the championship Sir Alex Ferguson retired and United have not been in contention since.
In a competitive sense, City versus Chelsea has been the bigger game in recent years and Tottenham and Liverpool currently look more likely to break that duopoly than United.
After a medicore first season at the helm, Jose Mourinho will hope to change that by splashing more money on players of Paul Pogba's ilk this summer, with Antoine Griezmann regularly named as the Red Devils' top target.
There will be major spending at City, too, who do not have any young, core pieces in defence at all beyond last year's £47.5 million addition John Stones.
As far as the two Manchester clubs' attempts to compete with the very best in world football go, however, both Mourinho and Pep Guardiola still have plenty of work to do.
Team News
Manchester City went through a war against Arsenal and ended up having to sub David Silva, Sergio Aguero, and Fernandinho off with injuries. All three of them have a chance to come back fit, but will all be game time decisions, according to Physioroom.com. John Stones and Gabriel Jesus both missed out against Arsenal and are doubts for the derby, while Bacary Sagna and Ilkay Gundogan are both set to miss out, according to Physioroom.com.
Manchester United have their fair share of injury issues as well. Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera are both doubts for Thursday, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rojo, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and James Wilson are all out, according to Physioroom.com.
Key Players
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne
With some of City’s biggest players possibly missing Kevin De Bruyne will have to step up and put in a match winning performance against United. De Bruyne’s form has picked up a bit recently, with four assists in his last four league starts, but he hasn’t consistently hot the heights of his first half of the season. He does have the capacity to take over a game, and City may need that from him if they get more bad injury news.
Manchester United: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
After being out of favour for much of the first half of the season, Jose Mourinho has realized the brilliance of Henrikh Mikhitaryan this season and has made him an important part of his squad. The Armenian has scored in his last three starts in all competitions and got three shots off in each of his last two starts. The 28-year-old is one of United’s best players, and in the absence of Ibrahimovic and possible absence of Pogba, is ready to prove that to the world in one of United’s biggest games of the season.
Prediction
Neither team will see a draw in this fixture as good enough and will want to push for three points. The fitness of some players could decide who wins in the end, but United have been in great form and look poised to overtake their city rivals in the table.
Prediction: 2-1 United
