Red Devils' march upwards to be halted by City
The Manchester derby kicks off at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, with just four points separating the hosts and the visitors after Manchester United's recent surge up the table. Erik ten Hag's men have only lost once in any competition since the two sides last meet at the start of October when the Red Devils were on the end of another humiliating scoreline at the hands of their neighbours. There's little doubt they have improved since then, and this will be an acid test of just how much. Read our preview here:
Rash the bash
With options in the January transfer window limited in terms of bringing in a new striker, ten Hag and his recruitment team have turned to Burnley's Wout Weghorst. The Dutch international has found his groove on loan at Turkish giants Beşiktaş and also had a productive World Cup despite being exclusively utilised from the bench, scoring twice, including the cleverly worked free-kick that took his country to the brink against eventual champions Argentina in the quarter final. His signing won't be done in time for this, but at least he will offer another option to Anthony Martial, who has had countless opportunities to nail down a berth during his career in Stretford. Marcus Rashford, who has himself been inconsistent at times over the past few years, is certainly in white hot form right now, having scored in every game since the resumption of domestic football. He also has a great record in this fixture and will look to increase the stress upon a suddenly ordinary looking defence in light blue.
Uneven Stones path
Having suffered a surprising 2-0 defeat in the EFL Cup to Southampton on the back of a performance that can only be characterised as woeful, Pep Guardiola will need his charges firing on all cylinders to put a dent in their fierce rivals' ascendancy. Ostensibly, Rúben Dias is his only injury concern, though John Stones certainly doesn't look totally fit either, and won't relish coming up against Rashford at present. He might draft in Kyle Walker despite youngster Rico Lewis' mature displays at right-back, using the more experienced defender's knowhow to shut down his England teammate. Elsewhere, Erling Haaland will seriously test Luke Shaw's new-found home in the middle of a defensive quartet.
Betting tip
bet365 have odds of 3.50 for City to get back on track and open up a seven point gap back to United in fourth as they pursue Arsenal at the summit, though not without conceding to the hosts.
