Manchester is stuttering as derby day looms on the horizon

Manchester is not red. Manchester is not blue either.

If the early exchanges of this Premier League season are anything to go by, if anything, Manchester is mediocre.

While mediocrity is something that the red half of the town has been slowly getting accustomed to, the blue side is also in a newfound situation that it’s finding a little too tough to digest.

Manchester United garner the negative headlines, as always. An encouraging start that was their defeat to Arsenal was soon overshadowed by the familiar twang of negativity and spiralling toxicity. The image of Ruben Amorim shuffling through his tactics board during his side’s humiliating surrender to Grimsby Town has already become meme fodder. Things have been so bleak, that their last-gasp win against Burnley has been touted by many as a turning point for the Red Devils — three games into the season.

Yet, for all this hoopla and hubbub around them, they’re still not the worst team in the city right now. That mantle has been taken by their “noisy” neighbours, for a change.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, so often the belle of the ball, the very essence of excellence in this league for the better part of the last decade, are currently in the bottom half of the table.

Guardiola was excited at the start of the season with the way things were panning out for his side. With a crop of players that seemed rejuvenated, and a manager that seemed refreshed and raring to go, City started off in style with a classy 4–0 win over Wolves. However, their old failings materialised in the worst possible ways against Spurs, while they were just not able to deal with the subtle tweaks that Brighton made in the second half and lost a game they led for most part.

Injuries, new signings, and a sense of incompletion seems to be collectively plaguing City in a way that it never has before.

So, all things considered, the first Manchester Derby of the season has probably come a little too soon for both teams amid varying levels of tumult. Yet, this could also prove to be the much-needed shot of adrenaline that both sides dearly need.

A win for United will give them a launch pad to put together a run of consecutive positive results — something they have not done in the Premier League under Amorim. Win at the home of their rivals, and they’ll be setting themselves up nicely for games against Chelsea and Liverpool in the near future.

For City, meanwhile, a win will give them the impetus they need for their Champions League campaign, which kicks off right after this fixture. Add to that the bragging rights of ending their winless run against their neighbours, which now stretches to four games, and it could prove quite a hygge shot in the arm for the Cityzens.

Defeat, however, will have demons protruding from everywhere. If Man City lose, they will have lost three consecutive league games under Guardiola in consecutive years. Shades of that dreaded last November from hell will echo, where they lost games at will, while Pep’s desire to manage at the club will once again be called into focus, with questions arising about a potential onset of fatigue once again.

For United, questions regarding their head coach’s suitability and future at the club will become ever louder. After all, 31 points from 31 games is tantamount to relegation form.

So, while Manchester is stuttering, be rest assured that the underlying subplots and the stakes involved makes the imminent derby a must-watch affair.