Manchester derby: City top with a perfect record, United eleventh. Our call
Sunday 13 September at 17:30 at Old Trafford. City come in on nine points from nine, United on four with six goals conceded in three rounds. There is a calendar detail that weighs too: two fewer days of recovery for the hosts. Our call with its confidence.
The Manchester derby is played on Sunday 13 September at 17:30 at Old Trafford. Manchester City arrive top of Premier League with a perfect record, Manchester United eleventh on four points: the gap in the table is the widest this fixture has had in a while.
How they arrive
Manchester United: 11th, 4 points from 3 games (1 won, 1 drawn, 1 lost), 7 goals scored and 6 conceded.
10/09, win at home against Sabah FK, 4-0 (the Champions League)
06/09, draw away against Everton, 2-2 (the Premier League)
30/08, win at home against Ipswich Town, 5-2 (the Premier League)
22/08, loss away against Hull City, 0-2 (the Premier League)
Manchester City: 1th, 9 points from 3 games (3 won, 0 drawn, 0 lost), 7 goals scored and 2 conceded.
08/09, win away against FC Porto, 2-0 (the Champions League)
05/09, win at home against Coventry City, 1-0 (the Premier League)
28/08, win away against Crystal Palace, 4-1 (the Premier League)
23/08, win at home against Bournemouth, 2-1 (the Premier League)
Two fewer days of rest
One calendar detail weighs more than it looks: City played in the Champions League on Tuesday, at Porto, and won 2-0. United played on Thursday, at home to Sabah, and won 4-0. Two fewer days of recovery for the hosts, in a game where tempo counts.
The last derby
The last time the two met, on 17 January 2026 and also at Old Trafford, United won 2-0. Before that, on 14 September 2025, City had won 3-0 at home.
The number that matters
City have scored in all three league games and won all three, seven goals scored and two conceded. United have shipped six in three rounds, including the 0-2 at Hull on the opening weekend and the 2-2 at Everton.
Our call
On the derby our call is the away side to score, confidence 7 out of 10. It is the most direct read available on these two form lines.
The line-ups
Confirmed line-ups land an hour before kick-off. Until then what circulates are predictions, and on this game the versions do not agree: we would rather say so than pick one at random.
Every game of the round with our calls is on the Premier League page. The record of settled calls is in the results history, and the individual ones are in player predictions.
