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Cape Town - The pressure will be on both Manchester United and Manchester City when they meet in Wednesday’s derby at Old Trafford.
United will be desperate to bounce back from a recent run of form that has seen them lose six of their last eight games across all competitions, a run that includes Sunday’s 4-0 hammering at Everton.
City, by contrast, have won 10 Premier League matches on the spin since losing at Newcastle at the end of January, and they can move back to the top of the Premier League standings if they secure all three points at the home of their city rivals.
That may be easier said than done, however, as, despite their poor recent form, United are unbeaten in their last 14 top-flight matches on home soil, winning nine of those games, with Tottenham being the last team to claim all three points at Old Trafford back in August.
However, if any team knows how to win at the Theatre of Dreams it is City, who have emerged victorious on five of their last seven league trips to Old Trafford, including a 2-1 victory on their most recent visit last season.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was involved in many Manchester derbies as a player, but this will be his first one as a manager and he is expected to be boosted by the return of midfielder Ander Herrera, who has been side-lined for the last four weeks with a thigh injury.
Luke Shaw is also available following a domestic suspension, while Solskjaer may look to make a number of changes to the team that struggled so badly against Everton.
The big team news for City is that Kevin de Bruyne will miss Wednesday’s match with the muscular injury he picked up against Tottenham at the weekend.
The Belgian could, however, return for Sunday’s trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.
Kick-off is at 21:00 (SA time).
