12:55pm | Disappointing end to affairs at Old Trafford as both sides fail to impress with a moment of briliiance. United, at the end of it all, will hope to take the result in good spirits given all the drama of the previous week. As for City, its pale reflection of its last season continues. The attack comprising of Jesus and Sterling hardly made an impact as De Bruyne floundered a couple of chances.
The spoils are shared on the night as the sides play out their first Premier League draw in three years.
Man United 0-0 Man City
FULL TIME whistles blow!
91' Jesus, what have you done? Runs in clear of the United defence and De Gea and wastes the move with a needless twirl in what might be the last chance squandered.
90' We are nearly drawing curtains on a lowly derby affair at Old Trafford. Two minutes of stoppage time.
87' Fernandes! Oh, not to be. Martial gifts the ball the Fernandes whose shot is cleared by Ederson quite comfortably in the end. The move looked more dangerous than it eventually panned out to be.
86' YELLOW CARD for Fernandinho. Brings down Martial at the centre.
83' The fans would not disagree to call this derby an absolute let-down. That being said, are we in for some late drama to make up for a sluggish 80-odd minutes?
80' KDB hits the wall and United is out of invited danger.
78' FREE KICK FOR MAN CITY! Needless from Maguire who brings down Jesus. Referee shows Maguire a yelllow. KDB sets up at a dangerous position.
76' 14 minutes to break the deadlock. Neither side has looked any better than the other.
73' SUBSTITUTION, Man United: Martial in for Greenwood
70' Torres looking sturdy on the right flank but Luke Shaw has took to the challenge, keeps Torres away from luring a cross this time.
67' Jesus! No. KDB?? No. United is still breathing on after that! Jesus unmanned with the ball in the box but fails to forced the shot, he twirls to move the ball to De Bruyne who smashes in but is cleared by Maguire. Another big miss for De Bruyne.
66' And Torres is straight into the action! A threatening inward move to the box from the right but is intervened by Luke Shaw and cleared.
65' SUBSTITUTION, Man City: Torres in for Mahrez
STAT ATTACK: Man City has gone five straight hours without scoring against United across all competitions! Pep's tricks need a tweak?
63' Ferran Torres is getting a look in. He is preparing on the sidelines.
60 minutes into the game and both sides are yet to bring in a substitute.
59' Fernandinho! Good shot from far out but moves a yard away from De Gea in goal.
55' The ebb and flow of the game has remained the same. Both sides, threatening in streaks and falling away soon after.
53' Pogba cuts through the defenders and forces the pass to Rashford who powers a wayward shot to the right of Ederson in goal.
50' Jesus attempts to swirl through the United defence who has huddled around the Brazilian and has forced the ball out to a corner.
47' Big moment here! A delayed reaction from Rashford as he is brought down in the box. Referee signals for the penalty but then calls for VAR. The referee is checking for the off-side as well. And there it is, Rashford is called off-side.
12:02am - No changes yet for the start of the second-half from either side. Anyone's game yet this one. SECOND HALF underway.
12:01am - First-Half numbers
11:50pm - It has certainly not been a classic that one would have hoped for. A rather dull session of play from both sides. United and City have taken the passive route but missed two crucial chances apiece to force the lead.
DEADLOCK AT HALF-TIME
45' One added minute.
43' Greenwood's attempt blocked by Dias! A powerful shot from the United forward just besides the box. Dias defends the searing ball with an excellent slide.
40' Header from Lindelof! Misses the woodwork inches wide. The Swede has looked his part tonight.
39' A dry spell for Fernandes but he has forced a corner off another shot.
34' Dear oh dear! City had United worked out here! Sterling climbs up through the left and passes it to KDB who quickly moves it to Mahrez far right. De Gea blocks Mahrez's dampened shot and De Bruyne misses a shocker off the deflection. Absolutely no one on goal and City has missed a massive chance here!
31'Corner and close for United.
Crisp from Shaw who pushes to the centre of the huddle, Maguire soars but heads it just wide of the cross-bar.
30' Half-way through the first-half and there's nothing to differentiate the sides. But United looked beautiful on the ball here. Pogba forces a wry shot after an excellent link-up from Lindelof and Fernandes.
27' Wonderful cross from Mahrez! Lindelof stretches himself towards Stones who fails to make a proper connection. A chance as good as it gets, is missed.
Neck and neck.
26' FREE KICK FOR CITY
26' City looks threatening here. A spurt of chances coming its way as United is forced back once again.
25' Oh Jesus! Nearly hits the net on the wall, stretches low for it but misses it wide off the top bar.
Rashford and Fernandes sets up for the kick. Fernandes hits the wall and the ball moves for a United corner.
22' FREE KICK for United. Pogba is brought down by Rodrigo, a few yards out of the box.
20' Nervy moments from United! An excellent solo play from Raheem Sterling who forced his way through the box. The United defence fended off the threat from Sterling's 30th attempt in all derbies. Remember, he is yet to score against United in 17 appearances!
17' Terrific from United in a jiffy. Lindelof plays a pinpoint cross from far deep to Fernandes who runs into the box. He reaches the ball but fails to keep it in contol and force a shot.
14' Problems continue for Fred. He is clutching his hip and has moved off the field. Nemanja Matic is seen warming up.
13' United has cut the slack. No rush to move the ball up front. Can this ploy work against a menacing City?
11' Corner, close! McTominay misses from the flick as he fails to make it to the ball. Crisp corner from United.
10' Delectable play from Pogba! Swivels at the centre and forces a lob to Fernandes whose shot is deflected.
9' Rashford makes a run for it through the left but Walker manages to quell the danger.
9' Fred still winces in pain with a knock he received early on.
8' City on the attack! Putting United on the back foot.
6' De Bruyne has looked nagging from the start. Forces into the United box through the middle and passes it to Sterling up front who hardly makes it to the ball.
5' Walker attempts to barge in through the wing but Shaw cuts it off brilliantly.
4' Possession play between Pogba and Fernandes but City breaks the ploy quickly.
3'
It will be very interesting to see how United deals with City who has been rock solid in defense in its recent run.
1' Positive start from City. De Bruyne tries to make swift inroads.
City gets the derby underway.
11:00pm - KICKOFF
10:55pm - We are nearly there. An epoch-making 183rd clash between the sides with so many mini-contests, careers and so many more at stake. The bottom-line - both sides desperate for a win. To restore faith and add to their high standards which has taken a hit early this season. Will Manchester turn red or blue tonight?
10:49pm - United has earned only four points at home this season. Surely, three points will feel good tonight!
10:45pm - The lads are warming up....
10:40pm - Top Performers:
Man United
Goals - Bruno Fernandes - 7
Assists - Bruno Fernandes - 4
Key Passes - Bruno Fernandes - 31
Man City
Goals - Riyad Mahrez - 4
Assists - Kevin De Bruyne - 6
Key Passes - Kevin De Bruyne - 22
All eyes would be on the impact of Fernandes and De Bruyne for their sides tonight. Can they deliver?
10:30pm - A win tonight would have United climb amongst the top-four while City could cut the gap to the top if it crosses the line at Old Trafford. 30 minutes away kick-off!
Massive day for Ole.
10:10pm - RECENT FORM GUIDE:
Manchester United PL form: WWWWL
Manchester United form (all competitions): LWLWW
Manchester City PL form: WWLDW
Manchester City form (all competitions): WWDWW
Men from across the aisle are here!
10:01pm - PLAYING XIs:
Manchester United XI(4-1-3-2): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Fernandes, Greenwood, Rashford.
Manchester City XI(4-2-3-1): Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, Fernandinho, Rodri, De Bruyne, Sterling, Mahrez, Jesus.
All the hustles and bustles, but Paul Pogba starts for United on Derby day!
KEY NUMBERS
Here are some of the key numbers ahead of the Derby:
Among the top 10 sides on the League table, City has scored the second-fewest goals with 17 goals to its tally. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers has scored fewer (11). United is one behind City, having scored 19 goals from 10 matches.
United, with a win, could have three consecutive Derby wins for the first time since 2009.
United has kept a clean sheet in its last two Derby appearances across competitions.
Man City has not conceded a goal in its last five matches across all competitions.
MATCH PREVIEW
9:55pm - It has been yet another palpitating week for United fans - equal proportions of excitement and agony. With Solskjaer’s men suffering two Champions League losses in the span of six days which had them crash out of the tournament, the pressure is mounting on the former United forward to deliver the goods from the sidelines.
United, however, had notched up yet another league win - a 3-1 swoop against West Ham and managed to pick the tide with four consecutive wins to lift itself up to the seventh spot. At this perplexed juncture, Old Trafford will prepare for the 183rd Manchester derby with the arrival of Pep Guardiola and his troops.
Pep’s City has fared slightly ahead of United in recent times despite resting two ranks below it at ninth place in the Premier League. The side has not tasted defeat in its five last matches across tournaments but its league performance has been a mixed bag with three wins, a loss and a draw.
For a side that nearly broke its own record for most goals in a season (106) with a staggering 102 last season, Guardiola’s men have been a pale shadow of itself - 17 goals from 11 league appearances. Despite the potent attack, the lack of intensity and goals has cost its campaign a good start and with its talisman, Sergio Aguero slowly picking up the yards on return from injury, City will hope to finish the year off in style. The Argentine, however, may be a doubtful starter tonight.
With both sides looking to bank on consistency and bolster their attack, the Derby will prove to be a momentous occasion, for the stakes are high as always.
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