Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for the first Manchester derby of the season as City host United at the Etihad Stadium!
Both sides come into this match off the back of memorable European results in midweek, but as far as domestic matters go there is a huge gulf between the two so far this season. Even this early in the campaign this could be make or break for United's title hopes, which should add even more intrigue to a fixture which is always one of the highlights of the season.
We will have a closer look at both sides in a short while, but let's start by checking out the team news...
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo; Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero
MAN CITY SUBS: Muric, Kompany, Gündogan, Delph, Sané, Jesus, Foden
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Fellaini; Lingard, Rashford, Martial
MAN UTD SUBS: Romero, Darmian, Jones, Fred, Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, the headline news from the hosts sees Sergio Aguero restored to the starting lineup despite Gabriel Jesus hitting a hat-trick in the midweek Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Argentine is the joint leading scorer in the Premier League this season with seven goals and has directly contributed to 22 goals in his last 13 Premier League games at the Etihad, scoring 17 and assisting a further five.
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Aguero also scored seven goals in his first seven Premier League games against United, but he is now without a goal in his last three so will be looking to end that drought today.
Raheem Sterling is arguably City's form player at the moment, but has never scored a Premier League goal against United despite attempting 19 shots in 12 previous meetings. Among players with at least 50 Premier League goals, only Robbie Keane has played against United without scoring more often.
Riyad Mahrez's fine performance in midweek is enough for him to keep a place in that front three too, wirth Leroy Sane dropping to the bench from the team which started against Southampton last weekend.
Guardiola has an embarrassment of riches up front, with all of his players in fine form, but there are fewer options in midfield with the absence of De Bruyne and the Spaniard keeps faith with the trio of Fernandinho, David Silva and Bernardo Silva today.
Indeed, Mahrez's inclusion is the only change from the Southampton win last weekend, while there are two changes from midweek and Benjamin Mendy returns alongside Aguero.
Stones and Laporte continue at the heart of the defence having seemingly established themselves as Guardiola's preferred duo, with Walker on the right and Ederson behind them as ever.
As for United, there is no Romelu Lukaku in the starting XI once again - although the Belgian is deemed fit enough to make the bench so his exclusion is perhaps down to form rather than the injury he has been struggling with lately.
That injury has kept him out of United's last two outings, but he was dropped against Everton last month when he was most recently in the matchday squad and once again has to settle for a place on the bench today having gone nine games without a goal for his club.
There is another noteworthy absentee in the shape of Paul Pogba, who missed training on Friday and has not recovered from what is understood to be a minor injury in time for this match.
The World Cup winner is replace in the starting XI by Marouane Fellaini, who makes up a combative midfield trio alongside Herrera and Matic as United look to unsettle City's creative playmakers.
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Marcus Rashford is given a rare chance through the middle in the absence of Lukaku, with Alexis Sanchez also among the subs, while Jesse Lingard is chosen in that front three too ahead of Mata.
Anthony Martial is United's form player right now having scored five goals in his last four Premier League games, and another one today would see him join an exclusive club including Eric Cantona, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie as players to score in five successive Premier League games for United.
There are no surprises in defence as Mourinho sticks with what is now his first-choice back for, meaning that there are only two changes to the team which picked up a famous victory in Turin in midweek.
Pogba and Sanchez are the two players to drop out of that side, while there are four changes from the team which started against Bournemouth last weekend as Fred, Pogba, Mata and Sanchez all miss out.
It is not quite a full strength United side which makes the trip to the Etihad today, then, and you can't help but feel that perhaps they would need to be at full strength to get something from this game.
City have been in brilliant form once again this season, and worryingly for the rest of the league it looks as though they might have even improved from their record-breaking success last season.
The difference so far this term is that there is a lot more competition at the top so far, with City one of three teams still unbeaten after 11 games alongside Liverpool and Chelsea.
Indeed, despite dropping just four points all season so far, Guardiola's side could find themselves as low as third by the time they kick off today after Liverpool took top spot by beating Fulham earlier today and Chelsea taking on Everton at the moment.
It was City leading the way at the start of the day, though, with a two-point gap separating them from Chelsea and Liverpool and a very healthy goal difference to boot.
It does not look as though City will win the title by as big a margin as they did last season - 19 points ahead of United in the end - but they are still very much the team to beat and continue to set the tone in England and Europe.
Indeed, City have now won 10 of their last 11 games across all competitions, scoring a whopping 35 goals in that time and even more impressively conceding just twice.
That run stretches back to City's solitary defeat of the season so far - a 2-1 home loss to Lyon on Champions League matchday one - but that will feel like a long time ago now. City come into this match on a run of six successive wins with just one goal conceded.
City also come into this match having scored six goals in successive games for the first time since November 1987, achieving that feat with a record-breaking performance against Shakhtar in midweek.
Gabriel Jesus helped himself to a hat-trick - including two penalties - while Silva, Sterling and Mahrez were all also on the scoresheet as City ran out 6-0 winners here at the Etihad - their biggest ever Champions League victory.
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City also hit Southampton for six in a ruthless performance last weekend, and while Guardiola will not be expecting a similar outcome in this match, there is no doubting that City's recent form makes them firm favourites today.
Indeed, City are unbeaten in their last 53 Premier League games against teams who began the day outside the top four, stretching back to their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Everton in January 2017.
City have been particularly good at home too, where they have scored 21 goals and conceded just one during a five-match winning streak, while they defeat to United here in April is their only loss in their last 37 Premier League home games.
Since losing that title-postponing derby in April, City have taken 25 points from the 27 on offer at home in the Premier League and have conceded just once in the second half of their subsequent 18 Premier League matches here - after conceding three times in the second half against United.
That victory will still be fresh in the minds of most
Manchester United fans, and they have even more recent experience to call upon that should give them hope for this match.
Wednesday night's win over Juventus will go down alongside their 1999 and 2003 Turin triumphs, and rightly so as they came from behind with two goals in the final five minutes to win.
It was the first time United had scored twice in the final five minutes to win a Champions League game since the 1999 final against Bayern Munich, and there have been one or two hallmarks of that great team under Ferguson which have begun to show in recent weeks.
Comebacks and late goals have been the order of the day in recent weeks, with United recovering from a losing position to get points from four of their last six outings.
That run includes winning goals in the 90th minute or later three times, most recently against Juventus in Turin but also in their last Premier League outing against Bournemouth.
United have now picked up seven points from losing positions this term, but City are unlikely to be so forgiving if United make another slow start this afternoon.
The Red Devils were dreadful in the first half of last weekend's match with Bournemouth and were fortunate to go into the break all square before going on to hit a late winner, but a similar display in the opening 45 minutes this time around could see them a few more goals behind.
Simply put, United cannot keep giving teams head starts in matches as their run of comebacks will run out sooner or later, and particularly against a team of Man City's quality.
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United begin the day eighth in the Premier League table, already nine points adrift of City and seven off the top four despite their recent improvement in form.
It means that today's match carries even more weight for United, who would surely be out of the title race once and for all with defeat and would also leave themselves with a huge amount of work to do to catch up with the Champions League places.
United could win three successive top-flight games for the first time this season today, while they are bidding for four wins in a row across all competitions for the first time since January.
However, if they are to do that they they will need to vastly improve their defensive performances which have seen them concede a whopping 18 goals in just 11 Premier League games so far this term.
Indeed, it took United until January 31 - 25 matches into the season - to concede that many Premier League goals last term, and Mourinho's side risk their worst ever defensive start to a Premier League campaign.
The current record for most goals conceded after 12 Premier League games is 20 in 2001, and the last time they conceded more than than was way back in 1966.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Etihad Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
United cannot be ruled out of this match following their win in midweek and Mourinho loves to bloody the nose of rivals in these big games, but it is hard to look past City in this form. We're going for a relatively comfortable home win.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man City 3-0 Man Utd
For all of City's success in recent years, they have only won two of their last eight matches against United across all competitions, losing four of those.
That includes the most recent edition of the derby, when United came from two goals down to win here at the Etihad in April, postponing City's title celebrations and claiming some minor bragging rights over their local rivals.
United are now unbeaten in their last three league visits to the Etihad and could win back-to-back league games here for only the second time today.
Indeed, the away team has won this fixture 17 times in the Premier League era, which is behind only Aston Villa vs. Liverpool and Everton vs. Manchester United for the most in the competition.
This is the 177th edition of the Manchester derby, and United currently lead the way with 73 wins to City's 51.
Right, we're almost ready to get going now! The players are out and kickoff is just moments away - a reminder of the team news before we get started...
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo; Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Fellaini; Lingard, Rashford, Martial
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! City get us underway at the Etihad Stadium!
SHOT! Quick start from City as Bernardo collects a pass from Fernandinho before cutting inside and rifling an effort past the post.
SHOT! Another big chance for City to break the deadlock early as Silva sneaks in behind the defence and is found by an incisive through-ball. He cuts the ball back towards Aguero, but the prolific striker completely misses his shot! The danger is not over yet, but De Gea is able to watch Fernandinho's effort trickle wide.
City are cutting through United far too easily at the moment. Silva now releases Sterling down the left channel, but the defence scrambles and gets away with only conceding a corner.
It is relentless pressure from the home side in the opening exchanges, with United struggling to get out at the moment. City earn another corner as Shaw blocks Mahrez's cross.
Aguero gets his head to the resulting delivery, but the whistle has already gone for a nudge on Herrera before the ball arrived.
City have had a whopping 87% possession in the opening 10 minutes, which tells you all you need to know about how this game has gone so far. One-way traffic at the moment.
GOAL! MAN CITY 1-0 MAN UTD (DAVID SILVA)
GOAL! City's ominous start bears fruit as David Silva breaks the deadlock in the 12th minute!
Sterling whips a vicious ball into the box which Bernardo does well to keep alive at the back post, knocking it back into the middle. Aguero is perhaps fouled, but it does not matter as Silva collects the ball and keeps his composure to fire a deflected effort past De Gea.
Almost another chance immediately as the ball is slid in to Bernardo inside the box, but his attempted pass inside is blocked. City really look in the mood today.
Here is that opening goal for City...
UPDATE: There has been a goal in the other Premier League match currently being played, with Cavaleiro giving Wolves the lead away to Arsenal.
United have been better in the last few minutes as they begin to see a bit more of the ball inside the Man City half. They have been slow to get going once again today, but now finally appear to be settling.
City are swarming all over United as soon as they lose the ball, but the visitors are beginning to deal with that pressure better now. No attacking signs from United just yet, but they are improving.
Herrera is dispossessed by Aguero, who finds himself up against four United defenders all on his own. The Argentine is able to advance into the area from the halfway line, but he loses his footing at the vital moment and United are able to nick the ball back.
CHANCE! Matic cleverly flicks the ball into the path of Martial, who sees his effort well blocked by Stones. The ball is recycled and quickly comes back into the area, but Smalling's header loops onto the roof of the net.
A telling statistic behind United's troubles this season...
Mourinho may have expected City to make a faster start than his side in this match, but United have done well to avoid further damage since the opening goal and they are still very much in this one.
SHOT! It all opens up for Laporte, who tries his luck from range but fires it a few yards over the crossbar.
YELLOW CARD! Bernardo is the first name in the book for this derby courtesy of a lunging challenge on Rashford.
Shaw fizzes a low cross into the feet of Martial, but his touch is heavy and bounces through to Ederson inside the area.
It is all a bit slow for City at the moment - their intensity has certainly dropped since that dangerous opening 10 minutes.
Mourinho will want to see more from his side going forward with Ederson yet to be tested in this match, but he will be content with how his side have responded to falling behind here. They are very much in this game.
Five minutes remaining in this first half now and it is now which City deservedly lead, but they have not been able to build on that lead. The hosts' best moments came in the opening 10 minutes.
YELLOW CARD! Shaw is the first United player in the book for cynical bodycheck on Mahrez.
A couple of handball shouts in quick succession as first Smalling and then Fellaini survive the calls, and the referee got them right on both occasions.
SHOT! Bernardo wins the ball in midfield and immediate races forward after exchanging passes with Silva. The midfielder slides his pass in to Aguero, who fires his effort into the side-netting.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: MAN CITY 1-0 MAN UTD
Manchester City go into half time ahead in the first Manchester derby of the season, then, and they are worthy of their lead at the interval.
However, they have not pushed on as much as they threatened to in the opening stages of the game and United will feel that they are still very much in this match heading into the second half.
David Silva got the only goal of the game so far after only 12 minutes, firing a deflected effort past de Gea after collecting Bernardo's cutback inside the box.
Sterling delivered the initial cross which caused the problems and Bernardo did well to keep it alive at the back post, cutting it back to Silva to fire home.
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There have not been many clear cut chances aside from that, though, with City's best other moments coming in the opening exchanges when Bernardo fired wide and Aguero squandered a really good chance.
United's only hint of a chance came when Smalling sent a head looping on to the roof of the net, but Silva's goal is the only shot on target we have had so far today.
KICKOFF: United get us back underway at the Etihad Stadium!
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-0 MAN UTD (SERGIO AGUERO)
GOAL! Huge goal for City as they get the two-goal cushion they were after! Aguero blasts his finish into the roof of the net past De Gea, who cannot react in time to turn it over the crossbar.
De Gea's initial kick put his side in trouble as Lingard lost possession on the halfway line, allowing City to pour forward. Aguero exchanges passes with Bernardo in the box before then firing his finish in from a tight angle. De Gea may feel as though he could do better, but it was hit with such power.
United came from two goals down to win here in April, of course, but that goal was a huge blow to them. They have been in this game since initially falling behind, but now they have a mountain to climb.
City look in control of this match now, and Mourinho may need to change things sooner rather than later to change the course of this game. Lukaku is among those on the bench, of course.
Needless to say, the next goal is huge for United now. It would surely be game over if City got a third, whereas a goal back for United would get them right back into this one.
CHANCE! Chance for City to get that third as Fernandinho picks out a brilliant pass to Sterling down the left channel, but the in-form winger takes far too long over his finish and is eventually crowded out when he initially had a clear chance.
MAN UTD SUB: It is time for Lukaku now as the Belgian replaces Lingard.
PENALTY! Manchester United have a penalty as Lukaku is immediately involved! He gets to the ball before Ederson inside the box and the keeper wipes Lukaku out!
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-1 MAN UTD (ANTHONY MARTIAL)
GOAL! Game on at the Etihad! United are back in the game as Martial continues his fine recent goalscoring form by rolling the penalty into the bottom corner, sending Ederson the wrong way.
Half an hour remaining in this match now, and suddenly it is all to play for! City will kick themselves if they let United back into this one.
MAN CITY SUB: Change for the home side here as Mahrez is replaced by Leroy Sane.
Martial really is in fine form at the moment...
City have responded well to that United goal, quickly reassuming control of possession. You get the sense that they may need that two-goal cushion back, though.
SHOT! Sane cuts inside from the left flank before dropping the ball back to Fernandinho, who fires his long-range effort off target.
Sane wins a free kick down the left channel but sees his own delivery easily cleared by United. Just over 20 minutes remaining in this one!
SAVE! End-to-end stuff momentarily as United and City both look to launch counter attacks in quick succession, the latter of which result in Fernandinho curling an effort into the arms of De Gea.
MAN UTD SUBS: Double change for Manchester United as Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez replace Herrera and Rashford.
SHOT! City break quickly and have a four-on-two scenario with Sterling leading the charge, before picking out Sane. The German goes for goal himself, but blazes a wild effort well off target.
MAN CITY SUB: The hosts make a change as Aguero is replaced by Ilkay Gundogan.
City are beginning to knock on the door again now with 10 minutes remaining of this match. United need to ramp up the pressure in these closing stages!
SHOT! A long spell of Man City pressure comes to an end with Gundogan working space to shoot on the edge of the box, but he gets his finish all wrong and skews it well wide.
This is better from United now. They have City pinned back in their own half and are beginning to put sustained pressure on the defence now.
Just five minutes remaining in this match now! City are looking to run down the clock via possession now, and United need to do something to upset that rhythm.
GOAL! MAN CITY 3-1 MAN UTD (ILKAY GUNDOGAN)
GOAL! Surely that is game over now! Another long passing move ends up with Gundogan stroking home the killer goal from close range, having been left completely unmarked.
Bernardo picks him out with a good cross into the box, and Gundogan has the time and space to take a touch before firing his finish past De Gea.
The Etihad is in party mood now - they know this match is over as a contest now and that City are heading back to the top of the table.
There will be three added minutes at the end of this match.
MAN CITY SUB: A third and final change for City as David Silva is replaced by Phil Foden.
FULL TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester City get the bragging rights in the first derby of the season as they run out 3-1 winners over Manchester United, who made a game of it but were comfortably second best today.
Goals from David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan fire the champions back to the top of the Premier League table, whereas United could only muster a Martial penalty in response. Twelve points now separate the two sides after just 12 games!
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's derby as City return to the top of the Premier League courtesy of a 3-1 win over United at the Etihad. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
