The Manchester Derby needs no introduction to those who follow football. The match can be dubbed as the English El Classico due to huge animosity between the two teams. Once dismissed as “noisy neighbors”, Manchester City is now a force to be reckoned with. The reigning Premier League champions have played second fiddle to Manchester United historically, but their current multi-million ensemble contains a cast of top players brought in thanks to funding by a Middle Eastern consortium.

The first Manchester derby was held on November 12, 1881. Since then, 168 matches have been played between the two teams where United have a clear advantage over city as they have won 69 matches compared to City’s 49. 50 fixtures resulted as draw and Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs has made most appearances (36) in this fixture. United’s captain, Wayne Rooney is the leading goal-scorer in this fixture with 11 goals which includes a spectacular 78^th minute overhead kick which gave United a 2-1 victory over their arch-rivals.

Manchester United are approaching this fixture in the manner they would not have predicted a few weeks ago. United have leap-frogged City and currently sit in 3^rd position while City are lagging behind in 4^th. United has traditionally gained momentum in the second half of the season and this campaign has been no different than any famous late surges in Sir Alex Ferguson’s era. Van Gaal’s team has won its last 5 games including victories against Tottenham and Liverpool while City have won just 2 of their last 5 and are returning from a demoralizing 2-1 away loss to Crystal Palace. Last season was a disaster as teams looked for a win against Manchester United in the Old Trafford but the fortress has been reinforced again as United have taken 40 points at Old Trafford in this campaign and boast the best home record in Premier League.

Manchester United have scored 11 and conceded only 2 goals in the last 5 Premier League encounters and their city rivals have scored only 7, 3 of which have been from set pieces while conceding 5 goals. This fact would be music for Van Gaal’s ears as everyone in his team including Fellaini, Mata, Herrera and Rooney are playing at their best while the defence has also settled down and are developing mutual understanding and coordination.

City have not been the same since Yaya Toure went to African Cup of Nations and sorely missed the likes of David Silva and Aguero through recurring injuries and suspensions. Their inspirational captain Vincent Kompany has not been playing at the top of his game this season and has not stamped his authority on the back four. Kompany’s lack of form has cost City crucial ties and the table provided below highlights the importance of 3 key players, Aguero, Silva and Yaya Toure for Manchester City.

David De Gea has been sensational between the sticks for Manchester United - keeping three clean sheets in the past 5 matches, earning him a performance score of 86 - and has grown from a potential star to a world class goalkeeper this season. England number one, Joe Hart, however has a mixed season and he has given some mediocre performances but has performed well overall. De Gea has been performing a lot better than Joe Hart recently which is mainly down to new-found defensive solidity while Joe Hart’s form has dipped in the last five matches.

This Manchester Derby will be the first ever after Manchester United gave official status to its Pakistani fan club based in Lahore. The fan club will be holding a screening at Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi and are aiming to surpass their attendance of 120 fans who attended the screening for the match against Liverpool.

This fixture can prove to be game-changer if we get anything other than a draw. A win for Manchester City will mean Pellegrini’s side will bypass United and will try to emulate last year’s run at the death of the season. A win for Manchester United will widen the gap between them and fourth placed City which might be end of the road for Pellegrini at the helm and give United the thrust to challenge Arsenal for the second spot who will visit Old Trafford on May 17.

Stats source: Squawka