Preview: Carrick leads United against City in the Manchester DerbyShareMichael Carrick is at the wheel, and it’s another fresh start with a familiar face at Old Trafford. And his first match in charge couldn’t be much more of a test. By Ian KingBoth teams need a win from this matchAll aboard, then, for the next chapter in the Premier League’s longest running drama series. Michael Carrick is the new interim Manchester United head coach, and it’s reasonable to say that his first game in charge is a baptism of fire. United could do with a bit of a new manager bounce, having won just one of their last six in the Premier League, but for all the talk of CRISIS, they remain just three points off a Champions League place; just one point, should an English team win the competition this season. Both sides have drawn their last three in the leagueManchester City, meanwhile, have been stumbling in the league somewhat, but have over the previous eight days found their aim a little in the cups, beating Exeter City 10-1 in the FA Cup and then running up a comfortable 2-0 lead by beating Newcastle away in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. Given that they’d drawn their previous three games of 2026, allowing Arsenal to open up a comfortable lead at the top of the table, they need a win to try and keep in touch at the top.Honours have been even between these two sides over the last couple of yearsIf the last meeting between these two teams at Old Trafford is anything to go by, viewers could be in for a long afternoon, with these two having played out a soporific goalless draw there in the first week of April 2025. When the two sides met at The Etihad in the middle of September, though, City won 3-0 without breaking into too much of a sweat. But United’s recent record against City isn’t that bad. They beat them 2-1 at The Etihad in December 2024 and then, of course, there was the 2024/25 FA Cup final, where two first half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were enough to carry them to a 2-1 win which earned Erik Ten Hag a year’s extension on his contract. Different times.Benjamin Šeško is coming to life, while Antoine Semenyo has hit the ground runningWith three goals in his last two games, including two at Burnley in their last Premier League match, Benjamin Šeško has lumbered to life, of late. That Turf Moor brace doubled his Premier League tally for the season to four, and scoring against Brighton in the FA Cup took him up to five in all competitions. Adding to that tally in this match would be quite a continuation in that upswing in form.With the perfect send-off from his former club Bournemouth coming in the form of a stoppage-time winner against Spurs in his final match followed by a big money move to Manchester City and two goals in his first two appearances for the club, January has already been a big month for Antoine Semenyo. It’s fair to say that he’s settled in quickly at The Etihad.Manchester United welcome two back from AFCON, while City’s returnee could be on his way again soonManchester United have no fresh injuries, though Matthijs de Ligt remains sidelined, most likely until the start of next month. Michael Carrick can welcome back Bryan Mbuemo and Amad from AFCON duties, but Noussair Mazraoui is still out there with Morocco, having featured in their penalty shoot-out semi-final win against Nigeria on Wednesday. Shea Lacey is suspended after getting himself sent off against Brighton in the Cup. Manchester City have a lengthy list of injuries: Joško Gvardiol, Mateo Kovačić , John Stones, Rúben Dias, Savinho and Oscar Bobb won’t be back in their team again for a while. Omar Marmoush is back from AFCON, but with rumours that he could be sold or loaned out, it’s unlikely that he’ll start.United and City could be set to cancel each other out on Derby DayOn paper, this should be a comfortable win for Manchester City. They have better players than Manchester United in pretty much every position, quite aside from anything else. But United have a way of tapping into their Big Club DNA at such points, even if they couldn’t when these two sides met earlier this season. Add to that the return of another Club Legend as interim head coach, and they could build up quite a head of steam before kick-off. But two wins and thirteen goals in the cups might have breathed some life into Manchester City, who’d sleepwalked their way through their first three fixtures of the new year. Erling Haaland hasn’t scored a goal from open play in 2026 so far, but Antoine Semenyo’s explosive start has rekindled a little optimism around The Etihad Stadium. With a new head coach installed, Manchester United should be up for this one, and the result of all this may be two teams effectively cancelling each other out. I’m going for the 1-1 draw, for Manchester United to celebrate it like it’s a win, and for Manchester City to continue in an increasingly forlorn-looking pursuit of the Premier League leaders. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Preview: Carrick leads United against City in the Manchester DerbyMichael Carrick is at the wheel, and it’s another fresh start with a familiar face at Old Trafford. And his first match in charge couldn’t be much more of a test. By Ian KingBoth teams need a win from this matchAll aboard, then, for the next chapter in the Premier League’s longest running drama series. Michael Carrick is the new interim Manchester United head coach, and it’s reasonable to say that his first game in charge is a baptism of fire. United could do with a bit of a new manager bounce, having won just one of their last six in the Premier League, but for all the talk of CRISIS, they remain just three points off a Champions League place; just one point, should an English team win the competition this season. Both sides have drawn their last three in the leagueManchester City, meanwhile, have been stumbling in the league somewhat, but have over the previous eight days found their aim a little in the cups, beating Exeter City 10-1 in the FA Cup and then running up a comfortable 2-0 lead by beating Newcastle away in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. Given that they’d drawn their previous three games of 2026, allowing Arsenal to open up a comfortable lead at the top of the table, they need a win to try and keep in touch at the top.Honours have been even between these two sides over the last couple of yearsIf the last meeting between these two teams at Old Trafford is anything to go by, viewers could be in for a long afternoon, with these two having played out a soporific goalless draw there in the first week of April 2025. When the two sides met at The Etihad in the middle of September, though, City won 3-0 without breaking into too much of a sweat. But United’s recent record against City isn’t that bad. They beat them 2-1 at The Etihad in December 2024 and then, of course, there was the 2024/25 FA Cup final, where two first half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were enough to carry them to a 2-1 win which earned Erik Ten Hag a year’s extension on his contract. Different times.Benjamin Šeško is coming to life, while Antoine Semenyo has hit the ground runningWith three goals in his last two games, including two at Burnley in their last Premier League match, Benjamin Šeško has lumbered to life, of late. That Turf Moor brace doubled his Premier League tally for the season to four, and scoring against Brighton in the FA Cup took him up to five in all competitions. Adding to that tally in this match would be quite a continuation in that upswing in form.With the perfect send-off from his former club Bournemouth coming in the form of a stoppage-time winner against Spurs in his final match followed by a big money move to Manchester City and two goals in his first two appearances for the club, January has already been a big month for Antoine Semenyo. It’s fair to say that he’s settled in quickly at The Etihad.Manchester United welcome two back from AFCON, while City’s returnee could be on his way again soonManchester United have no fresh injuries, though Matthijs de Ligt remains sidelined, most likely until the start of next month. Michael Carrick can welcome back Bryan Mbuemo and Amad from AFCON duties, but Noussair Mazraoui is still out there with Morocco, having featured in their penalty shoot-out semi-final win against Nigeria on Wednesday. Shea Lacey is suspended after getting himself sent off against Brighton in the Cup. Manchester City have a lengthy list of injuries: Joško Gvardiol, Mateo Kovačić , John Stones, Rúben Dias, Savinho and Oscar Bobb won’t be back in their team again for a while. Omar Marmoush is back from AFCON, but with rumours that he could be sold or loaned out, it’s unlikely that he’ll start.United and City could be set to cancel each other out on Derby DayOn paper, this should be a comfortable win for Manchester City. They have better players than Manchester United in pretty much every position, quite aside from anything else. But United have a way of tapping into their Big Club DNA at such points, even if they couldn’t when these two sides met earlier this season. Add to that the return of another Club Legend as interim head coach, and they could build up quite a head of steam before kick-off. But two wins and thirteen goals in the cups might have breathed some life into Manchester City, who’d sleepwalked their way through their first three fixtures of the new year. Erling Haaland hasn’t scored a goal from open play in 2026 so far, but Antoine Semenyo’s explosive start has rekindled a little optimism around The Etihad Stadium. With a new head coach installed, Manchester United should be up for this one, and the result of all this may be two teams effectively cancelling each other out. I’m going for the 1-1 draw, for Manchester United to celebrate it like it’s a win, and for Manchester City to continue in an increasingly forlorn-looking pursuit of the Premier League leaders. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.