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Manchester City are quietly beginning to settle into life under new manager Enzo Maresca. After opening the season with a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield, City came from behind to edge Bournemouth 2-1 and then swept aside Crystal Palace 4-1. They followed that with a 1-0 win over Coventry City, before starting their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory away to Porto.

City will now try to make it seven wins from eight against Premier League opponents when they head to Old Trafford on Sunday. Manchester United, meanwhile, have had an uneven start to the campaign, suffering a 2-0 defeat at Hull City before hammering fellow promoted side Ipswich Town 5-2. After conceding a stoppage-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Everton, United bounced back with a 4-0 thrashing of UEFA Champions League debutants Sabah.

Although they have trailed their city rivals for more than a decade, United have managed to narrow the gap in recent meetings. They have won three of their last six Manchester Derbies and drawn two, and they will also take encouragement from the fact that City are no longer under the management of Pep Guardiola, widely regarded as one of the greatest managers in football history.

Unlike Maresca, who has already won three trophies as a manager, Michael Carrick is still waiting for the first silverware of his coaching career. Even so, confidence should not be lacking. In his first match as United’s interim coach, his side beat City 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Patrick Dorgu and Bryan Mbeumo.

When the two coaches met during the 2023/24 EFL Championship season, Carrick’s Middlesbrough beat Maresca’s Leicester City in both matches. He will now be aiming to stretch that run to three wins on Sunday. So what could shape the outcome of the 199th Manchester Derby? Here is a closer look.

Carrick has an attacking selection issue to resolve. Should he stick with Matheus Cunha through the middle, or hand Benjamin Sesko his first Premier League start of the season after his goal against Sabah? Should he continue with Mbeumo and Cunha in the wide roles after their strong display against Sabah, or bring Marcus Rashford or Patrick Dorgu back in on the left?

For Maresca, there is also a decision to make over whether Phil Foden or new signing Iliman Ndiaye joins Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo in attack. One thing, however, appears certain: Erling Haaland will lead the line for City, and he may well prove decisive in whether they take all three points or drop them.

After leading Norway to a historic World Cup quarter-final, Haaland has carried that form back with him, scoring 5 goals in his last 3 matches. He tore through United early in his derby career with 6 goals and 4 assists in his first 5 meetings, but his output has slowed since then. Haaland has been kept quiet in 5 of his last 6 derbies, and he will be determined to change that on Sunday.

Will Harry Maguire stay tight to Haaland or focus on protecting the space in behind? Can Lisandro Martinez step out at the right moments without leaving room for Haaland to exploit? Can United stop City from supplying early crosses and cutbacks, and can they track runners such as Semenyo, who help create openings for Haaland? These are the questions United must solve if they are to stop him from causing major damage.

If United are to stop City from controlling possession and imposing the game on their own terms, they must show courage in possession themselves. Can they move the ball cleanly from the first phase into the second and tempt the opposition forward? Or will they lose composure under pressure and simply send long balls forward for their attackers to chase?

City have begun to click under Maresca with a 4-2-3-1 shape that turns into a 3-2-5 when they have the ball, along with a man-oriented structure that demands every player chase the ball immediately after losing it and work within an intense pressing system. That efficiency in the press has helped City dominate possession and produce at least 2.1 expected goals in each of their last four matches.

If United are to escape City’s suffocating press, every player will need to stay alert for the full 90+ minutes. Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot must be able to carry the ball forward and make City pay attention to them in possession, instead of merely clearing it up the line.

Senne Lammens must be capable of finding the free man rather than falling back on hopeful long balls, and if players such as Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans are tightly marked, then others like Mbeumo will need to drop deeper and create passing lanes. United cannot afford to retreat and let City camp in the final third; they need to play without fear both in and out of possession.

There are not many attacking midfielders who can match Bruno Fernandes blow for blow, but Rayan Cherki is one of them. After finishing as the leading assist-maker in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Europa League, Cherki secured a move to Manchester City for an initial €36.5 million. He has wasted little time in making that fee look excellent value, collecting 10 goals and 15 assists in 52 appearances in his first Premier League season.

Cherki was named in the 2025/26 PFA Team of the Season alongside Fernandes, who inspired United to a top-three finish with a record 21 Premier League assists. Both players found it difficult to hit top form at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but both have since returned to their best, with Fernandes scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist against Ipswich before finding the net again against Sabah.

As for the Frenchman, he set up both of City’s goals after coming off the bench against Bournemouth, and he has stayed in the starting XI ever since, scoring a brace at Crystal Palace in the next match. Cherki has done an impressive job of filling Kevin De Bruyne’s huge boots in the No. 10 role, and there is every reason to think he can hurt a United side that conceded two goals in each of their first three matches.

Fernandes will carry the responsibility of taking advantage of City’s aggressive positioning, launching counter-attacks and helping United thrive in transition. The Portugal playmaker is not only a top-class creator — he is also the kind of player who can play the first forward pass and turn defence into attack with one perfectly weighted through ball between the lines. If he produces that kind of quality, United may well have a chance of beating City.

Manchester United: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Fernandez, Anderson; Foden, Cherki, Semenyo; Haaland