Until the 90: PL Big Match Preview: 175th Manchester Derby & 229th Merseyside derby with Predictions for GW 16

Gameweek 16

Predictions at the bottom↓

The upcoming week of Premier League action is set to be a cracker as the two concluding fixtures see four fierce PL rivals going head-to-head. The result will bring important implications to the PL table along with bragging rights for the victors.

It's the spotless home record set to clash against the spotless away record in the PL and one has to give way this Sunday.

The 175th Manchester Derby Preview

The 175th edition of the "Manchester Derby" needs no introduction as two of the most dominant teams in the PL this season are set to take center stage once again.

Man United come into this fixture "red hot" in form after their outstanding 3-1 victory at Arsenal and have made their home a fortress this season. They currently sit 2nd in the league, trailing their neighbors by 8 points.

Man City have been the team to beat in the league so far. They are unbeaten in the PL this season and their recent 2-1 victory over West Ham United has taken their run to an astonishing 13 straight PL victories.

United manager Jose Mourinho & City manager Pep Guardiola have the utmost respect for the other but have been rivals since their days coaching in the La Liga for Real Madrid & Barcelona respectively. Guardiola already has one win under his belt against Mourinho in England.

Potential Team News

Man United will be without talismanic midfielder Paul Pogba who will begin his first out of three match suspensions after his red card at Arsenal last weekend.

Pogba will join Eric Bailly (Groin) & Michael Carrick on the list of players to miss out this weekend.

Phil Jones (Calf) & Marouane Fellaini (Knee) are back available along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic who was the last United player to score against their rivals.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola has declared David Silva fit to start this coming weekend. However, there are doubts regarding Fabian Delph (Illness) and Vincent Kompany.

John Stones (Hamstring) & Benjamin Mendy (Knee) are out.

Premier League

Head-to-Head

Played: 40

Man United Wins: 20

Home Wins: 10

Away Wins: 10

Draws: 8

Man City Wins: 12

Home Wins: 7

Away Wins: 5

Man United have the nod in league victories but City's recent resurgent against their rivals is helping them catch the pace.

Man City, (along with Chelsea) is the joint top scorers at Old Trafford, finding the net 27 times.

Man City has a total of 5 away victories at Old Trafford with the most recent one coming as their 2-1 win last season. Four of those victories have come since the start of the 2011/12 season.

Since that defeat, Man United are undefeated at home with an impressive unbeaten run of 14 Wins and 10 Draws.

Key Stats for victory:

Man United:

United's home record has been phenomenal since their defeat against City last season. They haven't dropped a single point at home this season, winning all of their seven home games with only Newcastle United managing to score at Old Trafford. Their current form stands with a four-game winning run (2H, 2A).

Jesse Lingard is establishing as Man United's most influential attacker this season after scoring three goals in his last two games. The goals were crucial for United to claim back-to-back away victories for the first time this season.

David De Gea has once again been a solid figure for United in goal this season. He made a league-high 14 saves last week against Arsenal and has 9 clean sheets to his name.

Antonio Valencia hasn't missed a minute of PL action this season. As the Right Wing back, he has scored twice this season against Everton and last week's opponents Arsenal.

Ashely Young has started United's last 11 PL games as the Left Wing Back with an involvement in five goals.

Jose Mourinho has restored faith in Anthony Martial upfront in a central striker role and the French international hasn't disappointed with 6 goals and 3 assists.

Man City:

City have their run of 13 wins in a row as their biggest advantage and with a win, this Sunday could make it 14 wins; the first team to do so in the PL. On the road, City has been unstoppable having won all their 7 Away games in the league this season.

Man City may have one of the quickest attacking trios in the PL with Raheem Sterling-Leroy Sane-Gabriel Jesus. They have been involved in a total of 37 goals this season.

City's creative midfield pair of Kevin De Bruyne & David Silva are expected to start alongside one another with the pair having assisted 8 times each this season.

City goalkeeper Ederson has kept 4 away clean sheets in the PL this season but is without a clean sheet in his last three PL games.

Since the 2011/12 season, Man City haven't lost a single game against United in which their captain Vincent Kompany has completed the full 90 minutes.

He is expected to start alongside Nicolas Otamendi who has scored thrice this season.

Sergio Aguero is City's main threat up front and is likely to begin the game. Since his move to the club, he has found the net 8 times against United.

Final Verdict:

This fixture is set to be a vital one for both sides. Bragging rights aside, City will want to extend their winning run to 14 games but a further look would be to move 11 points ahead of their rivals in second place.

But, United may be the side who would need this win more than City; firstly to close the gap to 5 points and they can end up getting it as they will have their home support in full flow.

From the neutral perspective, it is set to be a cracker of a game between these two amazing teams and if there is to be a victor, the title race will be blown wide open for the Manchester sides along with the other chasing pack.

Prediction:

Man United (3-1) Man City

Predicted Formations

The 229th Merseyside Derby Preview

With all eyes set on this weekend's Manchester Derby, the spotlight hasn't been too much on a huge 229th Merseyside derby; English football's longest and fiercest rivalries between Liverpool and cross-town side, Everton.

Coming into this fixture, Liverpool arrives in red-hot form with a six-game unbeaten run in the league and unbeaten at home this season. They handed Spartak Moskva a mid-week demolition putting seven past them to qualify for the UCL final-16.

A resurgent Everton side under new management has finally started picking up form with two consecutive league victories. Having distanced themselves from the relegation zone, they are now in 10th place, eleven points and six places below their rivals. They also achieved a consolation win in their mid-week Europa league fixture.

Jurgen Klopp is set to face an experienced Premier League manager in Sam Allardyce. Klopp's free-flowing attack will try and test Allardyce's resilient defensive unit who have kept two clean sheets in a row.

Team News

Liverpool will be without fullback Alberto Moreno (hamstring) which he picked up in their mid-week UCL victory. He joins Joel Matip & Nathaniel Clyne on the injury list.

Adam Lallana & Danny Ings have returned back to first team training.

Everton has welcomed center back duo Phil Jagielka & Michael Keane for the derby.

With no fresh injury scare, the players who are set to miss out are Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Ramiro Funes Mori, Yannick Bolasie, James McCarthy & Ross Barkley.

Premier League

Head-To-Head

Played: 50

Liverpool Wins: 22

Home Wins: 12

Away Wins: 10

Draws: 19

Everton Wins: 9

Home Wins: 7

Away Wins: 2

Everton has a miserable record against their rivals at Anfield with a winless run stretching for 17 successive PL games. Their last win at Anfield came in the year 1999.

A large portion of Liverpool's wins has come courtesy of injury time winners, having scored the winner on four occasions against their rivals.

Sam Allardyce is chasing a record which is only held by Harry Redknapp so far, winning against Liverpool as a manager with four different clubs.

Key Pointers:

Liverpool

Liverpool has been phenomenal at home this season with an undefeated record of 4 Wins and 3 Draws. They will look to keep their home record intact this coming Sunday.

Liverpool has also managed to keep five clean sheets at home this season.

With Alberto Moreno unavailable, this could be a huge night for either Andrew Robertson or James Milner to fill in at left back.

Robertson has managed to find game time very difficult under his belt this season, starting just 3 PL games. Milner, on the other hand, could be the obvious option after his midweek cameo in the UCL where he managed to get three assists in the second half.

Liverpool will have to find balance in central midfield for their attackers to play freely throughout the game. This could be achieved through the partnership of Emre Can & Jordan Henderson.

Mohamed Salah has been on fire in front of goal this season. The Egyptian international leads the goal-scoring chart with 12 to his name and has found the net in his last two home games in the league.

With his stunning performance against Brighton last time out, Philippe Coutinho wore the captain's armband and delivered with his first ever hat-trick for Liverpool in the UCL. He already has 4 goals & 5 assists this season.

Sadio Mane & Roberto Firmino have also started finding form at the right time this season having scored a total of 9 goals and register 6 assists.

Everton

New boss Sam Allardyce is starting to bring back Everton's swagger in the PL with the club registering back-to-back wins for only the first time this season. If they are to get anything this Sunday, they will have to approach the game with a strong defensive mindset.

Highly rated English keeper Jordon Pickford has also kept two consecutive clean sheets in the row but all of them have been at home with a first away clean sheet still waiting.

If Sam does decide to play with a 5-man defense, he has the option of recalling veteran Phil Jagielka. He was the last Everton player to get a point at Anfield with his stoppage-time wonder strike but could struggle against the pace of Liverpool's attack.

With no recognized left back available, Everton could play Aaron Lennon in the left wing back role to add pace in the counter-attack.

Summer signing Glyfi Sigurdsson is finally starting to find his feet on the Everton side. He has managed to score or assist in each of Everton's last four PL games. A direct set piece with Sigurdsson behind the dead-ball could be Everton's best hope to get a goal.

Wayne Rooney's return has been influential to the Everton line-up this season, as he leads the scoring with seven goals including a superb hat-trick against West Ham. In his Man United days, Rooney has only scored two goals at Anfield but both winners.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been Everton's spark in attack this season and his pace will be vital when they try to launch counter attacks this season. He has started the last PL games in a row, with a total of 2 goals and 5 assists to his name this season.

Final Verdict:

Everton has a mammoth task this Sunday and will find it very difficult to come out with a positive result on the PL table. They need to ensure that their defensive unit is at their utmost best on the night.

They need to take advantage of swift counter-attack which will be presented to them throughout the game along with exposing Liverpool's frailties at the back. Set plays will be crucial for the away side.

As long as Liverpool's defense keeps the Evertonian attack at bay, their attack has all the capabilities to get the job done and come home with the three points.

Prediction

Liverpool (2-0) Everton

Predicted Formations