Next Sunday, 2nd of November 2014, the current English champions, Manchester City, will measure forces with their neighbours and rivals of Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium for round ten of the English Premier League, a match during which the visitors will certainly try to explore the less positive moment the Citizens are experiencing.

After a major upset at Upton Park last weekend, where Manchester City lost 2-1 to a mighty West Ham, Manuel Pellegrini’s boys had yet another slip-up on Wednesday night, this time at the hands of Newcastle for the Capital One Cup. The Magpies made the most of their recent good moment and caught the Citizens by surprise, as they snatched an impressive 2-0 win.

The Chilean boss was far from being happy at the end of the match and he highlighted the need for his team to recover their confidence levels in order to quickly return to wins. A victory on next Sunday’s derby would certainly give the current English champions the morale boost they are desperately looking for, but it will surely not be an easy match for them.

Apart from their recent two consecutive defeats, it is also important to mention that the Citizens are on a three-match run without winning. One week ago, Manchester City didn’t manage to get anything better than a draw from their visit to Moscow, where they measured forces with CSKA for the UEFA Champions, thus almost jeopardizing their possibilities of walking through to the next stage of the competition.

For the match against United, Manuel Pellegrini will not be able to count on former Chelsea’s midfielder Frank Lampard, who is currently injured, and he is not yet certain if the French international Nasri will be 100% fit in time for the clash.

As for United, this season is again awakening the ghosts that haunted Old Trafford last term and there are already some supporters questioning the approach of their new manager, Louis Van Gaal. Despite their unbelievable inconsistency, the Red Devils are currently on a four-match streak without any defeats, but it is also fair to mention that they haven’t won a match since earlier this month. Last weekend, United might consider themselves lucky as they snatched a last minute equalizer against Chelsea at Old Trafford, but they cannot always rely on luck if they want to at least grab a place on European competitions next season.

Despite their poor recent form, Manchester City are to be considered slightly favourites for next Sunday’s derby, however, the outcome of these type of matches is always unpredictable.

Manchester City

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - LLDWW

Manchester United

Stats: W-2 L-1 D-2

Recent Form - DDWWL

Possible Line-ups

Manchester City (4-4-2) – Hart - Zabaleta - Kompany - Mangala - Kolarov - Fernando - Touré - Silva - Milner - Dzeko - Aguero

Manchester United (4-1-4-1) – De Gea - Rafael - Rojo  - Smalling - Shaw - Blind - Herrera - Di Maria - Mata - Fellaini - Van Persie

Prediction

Manchester City 1 Manchester United 1