Not only will both sides be battling for pride, but also the Premier League title, with City and United currently occupying the top two spots in the table.
City are a staggering eight points clear of second-placed Manchester United and will be looking to extend the gap to 11 on Sunday, but as we are only in December – there’s still a lot to play for!
Ahead of the upcoming match with our near neighbours, we take a look at previous meetings between the clubs as well as some statistics from the 2017/18 campaign.
Previous meetings
Sunday will mark the 175th Manchester derby, and in the previous 174 encounters the Blues have sealed 50 victories, with 52 meetings ending in a draw and United winning 72.
The clubs have met 40 times in the Premier League – where United have won 20 and we have gained 12 victories. In the top flight matches the Reds have scored 59 goals, while the Blues trail ever so slightly with 51 goals – and six of those City strikes were scored in the memorable Premier League showdown back in October 2011 when Roberto Mancini’s side sealed a magnificent 6-1 win away at Old Trafford!
However, our last meeting back in April ended goalless for both sides.
Interestingly, no away side has scored more Premier League goals at Old Trafford than Man City (27), while only Chelsea (6) have won more matches there as the visiting side in the competition than City (5).
Current form
City have had an incredible start to the 2017/18 season and still remain unbeaten in the Premier League. The Blues are currently one top flight win away from matching Arsenal’s 14-game winning streak in the competition – a record which has stood since 2002!
Meanwhile, our upcoming opponents have won 11 of their Premier League matches, drawn two and lost two.
Goals
One thing Pep Guardiola’s side definitely haven’t been short of this season is goals!
In the competition so far, City have scored a staggering 46 with Club record-holder Sergio Aguero and Player of the Month Raheem Sterling grabbing nine goals each.
Over the years, Aguero has netted eight goals in the derby and he will definitely be on the lookout to increase that number at Old Trafford.
For the Reds, Lukaku has scored eight of their 35 goals – the same amount Gabriel Jesus has scored for us – and Anthony Martial has netted six.
Assist kings
With City’s incredible start to the season, it’s no wonder that our players top the current assist charts!
Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva have simply been setting up goals for fun over the past few months. Both midfielders have set up eight goals each, while Leroy Sane has provided a helping hand in six.
For United, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba have provided the most assists – with five each. But, Pogba will miss out on the derby due to suspension after his red card against Arsenal.
‘Keepers
While Ederson has been on fine form this season, so has David De Gea.
The United goalkeeper has topped the number of clean sheets during the current campaign on nine, while our Brazilian stopper has achieved six – sat closely behind Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois in the stats standings.
