MAN CITY VS MAN UNITED
Sunday 3rd March, 3:30pm
Man City @ 2/7
Draw @ 11/2
Man United @ 17/2
view odds
The origin of the above phrase can be traced back to the Crimean War in 1854 – specifically the Battle of Balaclava, where a slender formation of red-coated Highlanders heroically repelled the advancing Russian cavalry.
Evolving over time to refer to any depleted unit holding firm under ominous attack, ‘The Thin Red Line’ was also used as the title for Terrence Malick’s epic, Oscar-nominated WWII film of 1998; which focused on the American military campaign in Guadalcanal.
And it is a red-letter day of conflict in the North West of England this weekend, as the thin red line of Manchester United’s defensive unit – buckled by injury and routinely breached by attackers of multiple hues this season – will attempt to hold-off the fearsome and sustained forays from Manchester City’s muscular spearhead.
‘His United career was once more hanging by a thin red thread.’
The 192nd Manchester Derby is a 3:30pm kick-off on Sunday at The Etihad.
This time last week, the prospect of facing City in heated, hand-to-hand battle was, perhaps, not quite so terrifying for United. They were, after all, unbeaten in 2024. Rasmus Højlund was beginning to bellow sparks of promise into fulsome flames up front. And the team as a whole – though they hadn’t exactly become an impenetrable tungsten carapace – were at least showing some signs of resilience and cohesion.
All three of these positive points were quickly blunted in the space of a couple of days, however. Firstly, Højlund was ruled out for a spell with an injury. And then, the sharp taste of defeat returned to United lips – beaten at home last Saturday by Fulham; who, in the process, also showed that the resilience and cohesion the Red Devils had been displaying in 2024 was actually just an expensive CGI art installation that could be easily disconnected at the plug.
Suddenly, Ten Hag was vulnerable again: Jamie Carragher was picking holes in him, Marcus Rashford was ghosting him (allegedly), and his United career was once more hanging by a thin red thread.
Did the narrow FA Cup win against Nottingham Forest in midweek mean anything at all? Did it return Manchester United back to the sunlit uplands of hope and optimism? Was Casemiro’s late header a pivotal, Mark Robins-esque moment for the club? We will soon find out…
As for City, in the last few games, well, things hadn’t quite been clicking for them. Oh sure, they weren’t losing football matches. They very rarely do. But they weren’t winning them with the expected levels of dominance and panache either. Especially given that Haaland and, to some extent, de Bruyne, had returned to the front line.
Then, all of a sudden, on Tuesday night, everything did click. With a vengeance. The cogs began to whirr; the levers began to turn; the girder-like steel limbs began to clank firmly into place.
Manchester City, once again, had transformed into an almighty, sky-blue Megatron. And they proceeded to gleefully punch-down on Luton Town – humiliating The Hatters live on national TV as if they had just spilled a drink on Pep Guardiola’s wife.
City’s run of Premier League fixtures post-Manchester Derby is an infamous five consisting of: Liverpool (away), Newcastle (home), Brighton (away), Arsenal (home), and Aston Villa (home). They will need to be sure that this week’s return to the peak of their awesome powers was not just a temporary shift.
And in what sort of condition will they be in to mount this kind of challenge following Sunday’s potentially epic battle? Will they be keen and fresh? Or will Manchester United’s thin red line – shorn of Shaw, Martinez and Malacia MIA too; Wan-Bissaka out, even the usually robust Maguire doubtful – somehow inflict surprise damage and find a way to write themselves into the annals of combat folklore?
For all your bets on the Premier League, visit our dedicated football betting page.
