After david De Gea's stunning performance against Arsenal last week, #ThingsDavidDeGeaCouldSave was trending on social media. One meme showed him diving in to save the Titanic! Yeah, Dave saves. We know. But will the world's 'seventh best goalkeeper' (according to France Football) be enough to stop a phenomenal Manchester City team that has dropped just two points this season. Not likely.
The Manchester derby to be played at Old Trafford on December 10 is being called a season-defining match even though the Premier League is not even halfway through. This is not far from the truth as City are eight points clear at the top and if United cannot stop them, the title race is as good as over.
City are unbeaten and have looked unstoppable since their draw against Everton on August 22—winning 13 on the trot to equal the Premier League record for the most consecutive wins in a season. Their record: 15 games, 14 wins, 46 goals for, 10 goals against, seven clean sheets. They are joint top with Arsenal in the total number of shots and have put together 10,972 passes—1,700 more than the nearest competitor, again, Arsenal. United are languishing at seventh position on this count with 7,379.
The only two areas were United have a better record are clean sheets (nine) and crosses (331 against City's 300). The number of crosses are a clear indication that United have spread the play to the wings more this season. This has suited them thanks to the pace of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. Not to mention, both their 30-plus full/wing backs Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young, are in the form of their lives. But City's wingers have arguably been better. They have stepped in from the flanks to devastating effect. And City have taken the game away from their opponents in the middle of the pitch. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva lead the assists table with eight each, followed by Leroy Sané and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey with six each.
De Brunye has played 20 through balls, eight more than the nearest competitors Christian Eriksen of Tottenham and Alexis Sánchez of Arsenal with 12 each.
Of City's 46 goals, 38 have come from inside the box. A lot of them tap-ins to finish off build-up play that ripped through the opposition defence. Even De Gea will find that hard to deal with. Most of the goals they have scored from outside the box have been near-perfect such as Sané's curved finish against Liverpool and De Bruyne's strike against Chelsea.
Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have scored nine goals each and are joint third, along with Chelsea's Alvaro Morata in the top scorer's list. Gabriel Jesus is close behind them with eight.
And to add to United's woes, their most influential player Paul Pogba is suspended. United struggled earlier in the season with Pogba out injured and only after his return did they start looking like a cohesive unit again. Nemanja Matić is carrying an injury, but resting him is not an option. Ander Herrera, United's player of the season last term, will start alongside Matić and the Red Devils will need a special performance from these two if they are to stand any chance of stopping City.
Martial and Rashford could both start on the wings after the latter broke a dry spell with a goal in the Champions League against CSKA Moscow in mid week. Romelu Lukaku also broke his goal drought against CSKA and will be looking to score in arguably the biggest game of his life. Jesse Lingard has been in sublime form. But he maybe too similar to Martial and Rashford, and United manager Jose Mourinho might opt for the guile of Juan Mata at some stage. And don't forget the superhuman Swede, Zlatan Ibrahimovic who made a miraculous return from injury and is capable of the spectacular, even at the age of 36.
City's defence is definitely susceptible, but United will have to keep things steady at the other end. But that is something that Mourinho specialises in. He is arguably better than City manager Pep Guardiola when it comes to winning a one-off game. Guardiola is more of a builder whose teams last at the top longer. He has also managed to infuse a bit of steel into the City team. Their last three victories came thanks to goals in the final 10 minutes of matches. A little reminiscent of the old Manchester United who won matches in extra time regularly, to the end that it became known as 'Fergie time' goals after legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
But things have changed in Manchester. Thanks to the backing of their billionaire owner and a sensible leadership (something United lacks, think Ed Woodward) City have well and truly come out of United's shadow. And beating a resurgent United at the 'Theatre of Dreams' on Sunday will help them stamp their authority on English football. Not to mention a 11-point lead and the record for the most consecutive wins in a Premier League season. For United, it is a must win game if they are to retain hopes of winning back the Premier League crown that has eluded them since Ferguson's retirement.
Kick off: 10pm IST, December 10
