:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68495796/1211227828.0.jpg)
Manchester City make the short trip to Old Trafford to face United in the 183rd Manchester derby. Victory for the blues will see them leapfrog the reds in the Premier League table, and keep up their recent good record at the home of their neighbours.
City haven’t always had the best of times when playing at Old Trafford, but what do the stats really say?
Last season’s 2-0 defeat was City’s first Premier League loss at United since Manuel Pellegrini’s side lost 4-2 in 2015. The blues won four and drew the other as they confirmed Manchester was definitely blue. That solitary defeat also interrupted a run of three straight wins in which City scored 11 and conceded just two. It is the best record City have had at Old Trafford since the Mercer / Allison era, when City went unbeaten in eight league games between March 1968 and April 1974, winning six and drawing two.
City first visited United in January 1895, when the reds were known as Newton Heath, and it wasn’t until September 1912 that the blues recorded their first win at United, a 1-0 victory that ended an 11 match winless away run.
The blues 6-1 win in October 2011 was their biggest win at Old Trafford since battering the reds 5-0 in February 1955, but it wasn’t the first time they had hit that scoreline. In January 1926, a City side struggling near the bottom of the table thumped 4th placed United 6-1 at Old Trafford. City scored 89 goals that season but conceded 100 and were relegated to Division 2.
That 6-1 win started a four match winning run, the longest City have ever had at Old Trafford and they won the next three games 2-1 and 3-1 (twice). Over the next 15 games, City would win just once, the 5-0 win in November 1955. Of course, that’s not the longest winless run the blues have endured. After a 1-0 win in 1974, City went an incredible 27 league and cup games without a win, a run that included 16 losses and 11 draws. During this period, City conceded 48 goals and scored just 20.
City’s 4-2 FA Cup defeat in 2004 was the first time the bleus had scored more than one goal at Old Trafford since a 2-2 draw in 1986. City have scored more than on goal on 27 occasions, while they have conceded more than one goal 36 times. Despite United’s higher goal count, they have only put five past City in a single match n two occasions – 5-1 in December 1960 and 5-0 in November 1994, while City can boast two 6-1 wins and 1 at 5-0! As you would expect, United hold the upper hand at Old Trafford, winning 41 to City’s 22 in all competitions.
Interesting Facts About This Fixture.
These two teams met on Christmas Day on two occasions. The first was in 1896 when Newton Heath ran out 2-1 winners, while the second in 1902 saw a 1-1 draw. They have also met twice on New Year’s Eve, with United running out winners on both occasions.
The last time United faced City at Old Trafford on 12th December was 1970, when the blues ran out 4-1 winners thanks to a Francis Lee hat-trick.
The last hat-trick to be scored in this fixture was November 1994, when Andrei Kanchelskis bagged three in a 5-0 win.
These two have never met in the league outside the top division since 1902, when they both played in the second division.
City have never beaten United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford. They have been paired together four times.
In the 2009/10 season, City and United played each other four times. In three of those matches, United scored a last minute winner – 4-3 at Old Trafford, 3-1 in the League Cup Semi-Final second leg and 1-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium.