Manchester City v Manchester United – Head To Head

City take on United in the first Manchester Derby of the season, and face the reds on the back of two thumping wins, scoring twelve goals in the process. But United won’t be a pushover and the blues have had mixed fortunes against the reds over the years. Let’s take a look at the stats between the two sides

Warning: some of the content below may cause distress but don’t worry, it’s gets better once you pass the 90’s!

Sunday’s match will be the 87^th Manchester Derby in all competitions at City’s two grounds, and in different guises of football clubs. The two teams first met in October 1891, when Ardwick took on Newton Heath in the FA Cup. Things didn’t go too well for Ardwick as they were thumped 5-1. The new Manchester City team in 1894 fared a little better when Newton Heath won 5-2 and their first win against their neighbours came courtesy of a 2-1 win in December 1895.

The first Manchester Derby took place in in April 1903 when, yes you guessed it, United won 2-0, with City winning their first derby in 1906, thanks to a 3-0 win. The blues then failed to win any of their eight home matches against united between April 1908 and October 1913, with five draws and three defeats.

City’s longest unbeaten run against the reds is seven matches, achieved between January 1915 and September 1928. The blues won three and drew four during this period. City’s longest winning streak in this fixture is five; August 1952-September 1955 saw the blues win 2-1, 2-0, 3-2, 2-0 and 1-0, while the longest losing streak is four, between November 1993 and November 2000.

City’s biggest win over United is 5-1 in September 1989, while four goal winning margins have been achieved on three other occasions; December 1898, November 1969 and November 1975. It’s safe to say these two teams like playing each other in November.

The blues heaviest home defeat is still that 5-1 FA Cup loss in 1891, but other than those two heavy early defeats, United have only scored four goals at City on two occasions; 4-2 in February 1957 and 4-3 in May 1971.

In total, both teams have won 31 of the 87 matches played at City, with 25 draws between the two sides. The last score draw in this fixture was March 1993 and the last goalless draw was April 2017. The two teams have played out three 3-3 draws in their history, the highest score draws in this fixture. The first came in October 1919, with the second coming in November 1971. On that occasion, City came back from 2-0 and 3-1 to rescue a point. Nineteen years later in October 1990, the result was the same, but it was United that came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to save a point at Maine Road.

City have kept 29 clean sheets in this fixture, but have also failed to score on 26 occasions. The last time City kept a clean sheet and won this fixture was November 2014, when a 1-0 win overcame the reds, while the last time the blues failed to score and lost was March 2016, which ended in the same scoreline.

The two have met at City in November 14 times, but never on November 11^th. The blues have the a clear lead in home wins against United in November, winning 7 drawing 4 and losing 4. City have played United on 10th November twice, winning one and drawing one, and 12^th November which they won, a statistic that will mean absolutely nothing on Sunday.

So who will win the 88^th Manchester Derby At City on Sunday?