United are unbeaten in their last five league matches
with City, but circumstances are awkward this time since injuries
have severely affected their defence. That difficulty is
particularly problematic since it follows their first Premier League defeat of the season, at
Wolves. It remains to be seen whether City have the boldness to
exploit the situation, although they have been more expansive in
the last couple of games, a 2-2 draw at Birmingham and a 3-0 win
over West Bromwich Albion. Victory for United would leave Arsenal
as their one plausible rival for the title.
Venue Old Trafford, Saturday 8.45pm
Tickets Sold out
Last season Man Utd 4 Man City 3
Referee Andre
Marriner
This season's matches 18 Y63,
R2, 3.61 cards per game
Odds Man Utd 4-5 Man City 4-1 Draw 11-4
Subs from Kuszczak, Lindegaard, Anderson,
Carrick, O'Shea, Park, Brown, Fábio, Gibson, Obertan, Bébé,
Hernández, Owen
Doubtful Fletcher (ankle), Hernández (jet
lag)
Injured J Evans (ankle, 19 Feb), Ferdinand
(calf, 26 Feb), Hargreaves (hamstring, 26 Feb), Valencia (broken
leg, 19 Mar)
Suspended None
Form guide LWWWDW
Disciplinary record Y38 R1
Leading scorer Berbatov 19
Subs from Given, Richards, Jô, Vieira, Lescott,
De Jong, Boyata, Dzeko, Wright-Phillips, M Johnson, Razak
Doubtful Boyata (hamstring), De Jong (ankle), M
Johnson (match fitness)
Injured Balotelli (knee, 20 Feb), A Johnson
(ankle, May)
Suspended None
Form guide WDLWDW
Disciplinary record Y52 R4
Leading scorer Tevez 18
• If this match finishes level it will be the 50th draw
between these sides from a total of 143 league
meetings
• United have not conceded a goal at home in the first
half of a Premier League game since April 2010
• City have won only one of their last 26 league visits
to Old Trafford
• United have picked up 37 points from a possible 39 at
home, 10 more than the teams with the next best record
• Carlos Tevez has scored four goals in his last six
appearances against United in all competitions
