We’ve done the serious stuff. The team news has been picked apart, the predicted XIs are in, and there isn’t too much more to say before City make the short trip to Old Trafford, so it’s probably time to have a little fun.
With the derby getting ever closer, here are six bits of ammunition for City fans who happen to find themselves in the company of United-supporting friends this afternoon.
City rather like Old Trafford
1. Nobody has won more Premier League away games at Old Trafford
City have won nine Premier League games at Old Trafford, which is more than any other visiting club has managed since the competition began in 1992.
A tenth today would take City into double figures and, given the opposition, would be a particularly pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
2. The 6-1 wasn’t a one-off
Everyone remembers October 2011, when Mario Balotelli’s Why Always Me? celebration became part of derby folklore and Sergio Agüero, David Silva and Edin Dzeko helped turn a memorable afternoon into an extraordinary one.
What is sometimes forgotten is that City had already beaten United by exactly the same score at Old Trafford, winning 6-1 there in January 1926.
3. There was a 5-0 too
If anyone tries to convince you that heavy City wins at Old Trafford are a relatively modern phenomenon, it may be worth pointing them towards February 1955.
City went across Manchester that afternoon and won 5-0, which sits rather nicely alongside those two 6-1 victories in the history books.
4. United once borrowed City’s ground
Old Trafford was badly damaged during the Second World War, leaving United without a home and resulting in them playing their home fixtures at Maine Road for several years.
It was there in September 1947 that the Manchester derby attracted its record attendance, with 78,000 watching City and United play out a 0-0 draw.
5. Haaland doesn’t mind playing United
Erling Haaland already has eight goals in seven Premier League appearances against United, so he certainly won’t need telling where the goal is when he walks out at Old Trafford this afternoon.
Only Mohamed Salah and Alan Shearer have scored more Premier League goals against United, which isn’t bad company for a man who still has plenty of Manchester derbies ahead of him.
6. It all started with Newton Heath and St Mark’s
The first meeting between the two clubs came all the way back in 1881, when neither Manchester City nor Manchester United existed under the names we know today.
Newton Heath hosted St Mark’s of West Gorton and won 3-0 in a match apparently described at the time as “a pleasant game”, which suggests Manchester derbies have changed quite a bit over the subsequent 145 years.
We’ll let them have the first one.
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