Man Utd trio to ‘expose’ Man City named by Paul Merson; makes result prediction with one factor decisive

Pundit Paul Merson has made his prediction for this weekend’s Manchester derby and has backed three Manchester United stars to “expose” Manchester City.

Sunday’s Manchester derby at the Etihad is impossible to predict as the two clubs are in turmoil.

Man City have just one win in ten matches across all competitions and appears miles off it in various positions. As for Man Utd, they have lost two Premier League games in a row as they are taking time to adapt to life under new head coach Ruben Amorim.

Ahead of this match, Man Utd are 13th in the Premier League and eight points adrift of fourth-placed Man City, but they are way ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side in the form table.

When making his prediction for this game, Merson backed Man City to win 2-1, but he named three players who could “expose” Guardiola’s side as United “have a chance” on one condition.

“If Ruben Amorim wants to win this game, he must opt for a front three with the likes of Amad Diallo, Marcus Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho,” Merson said in his column for Sportskeeda.

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“Everybody is exposing City through counter-attacks, and this trio can hurt them with their pace.

“If United can hurt City with pace, they have a chance in this game. They must not sit back and go into a shell while trying to defend all the time. They must take the game to their rivals.

“I still think City hold the edge here though.”

Merson has also commentated on Rashford’s situation, claiming it “will be difficult” for Man Utd to “get rid of him”.

“There are rumours about Amorim approving the sale of Rashford ahead of the January transfer window. I’m not sure who buys him, though,” Merson added.

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“His wages are through the roof and it’s not justified at all in his performances! It will be difficult to get rid of him.

“Manchester United are in disarray and them selling one of their highest-paid players? It doesn’t make sense to the buyer.

“If it’s Paris Saint-Germain, why don’t they just sign whoever United want to replace Rashford with? That’s a much better deal.”

Michael Owen has also made his prediction for the Manchester derby and claimed United fans will not be “absolutely petrified going into the game”.

“I think it’s probably the first time in a long time that Manchester United fans aren’t absolutely petrified going into the game, believing that they might get battered 5-0,” Owen said.

“Manchester City are unrecognisable at the moment and I can’t imagine how they can beat anyone by five at the moment, the way they’re playing.”

He added: “It’s probably the hardest derby in years to call, you would say Man City to come out on top but I’m not so sure this time.

“Anything could happen. I put 1-1 in my predictions because I can’t see where Manchester City are going to get their next win from.

“I watched them against Crystal Palace the other day. It just feels like they’re not in control of any game at the moment.”