80 min: He does fancy it but doesn’t score or trouble David De Gea. Despite the presence of John Stones, Ruben Dias and Fernandinho in a mini-Man City wall positioned just in front of the United wall, his shot is blocked by Paul Pogba in the latter.
79 min: Gabriel Jesus wins a free-kick just outside the Manchester United penalty area, drawing Harry Maguire into a challenge that earns the United captain a booking. Kevin De Bruyne will fancy this ...
78 min: Nothing of note has happened in the past 15 minutes and it continues to happen at apparently great length. This is a diabolically bad game of football.
75 min: Trying to receive a pass from Martial on the left touchline near the halfway line, Bruno Fernandes accidentally lets the ball roll under his foot and out for a throw-in. He shakes his head in disbelief, spits on the floor and walks away full of self-loathing.
74 min: Man United substitution:L Mason Greenwood off, Anthony Martial on.
72 min: Luke Shaw goes down injured and pulls his shirt over his face, as if he knows whatever ails him is serious. Moments later he gets up and continues. Another weird moment in a very weird game.
68 min: Kevin De Bruyne has a shot blocked by Harry Maguire after being teed up by Gabriel Jesus on the edge of the six-yard box. Jesus had looked miles offside as he ran on to a pass from deep but it seems he wasn’t. That was an excellent chance wasted.
66 min:Manchester City substitution: Ferran Torres on for Riyad Mahrez.
65 min: After several minutes of ... nothing, Kyle Walker beats Paul Pogba near the halfway line and sends the ball arrowing towards Sterling on the left touchline. Moments later it’s out of play for a goal kick.
62 min: Kevin De Bruyne wins and takes a free-kick halfway inside the United half. He floats the ball towards the bar post, where it sails out of play. Et tu, Kevin? Et tu? He’s been the one City player who has tried to bend this game to his will.
Kevin de Bruyne is crowded out by Fred, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
58 min: Manchester City continue their policy of attempted sterile domination, passing the ball around to no great effect. As we approach the hour mark, this is diabolical stuff considering it’s a derby. It’s worth repeating that both teams seem far more interested in not losing than winning, but Manchester United seem to have a little bit more about them.
Paul Hayward(@_PaulHayward)
There's a curious feel about this Manchester derby, as if the clubs have arranged an indoor friendly.
Teddy Atlas used to talk of heavyweight fights where the unspoken pact was: "I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me."
55 min:Manchester United are having much the better of this second half so far, a state of affairs that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian gestures angrily at his team-mates to up their game after finding himself on the ball in space in the United half with no options presenting themselves.
54 min: Rashford tries a shot of his own, firing wide of the near post when perhaps he ought to have shot across the bows of Ederson towards the far upright.
52 min: Mason Greenwood tries an ambitious shot that rolls well wide. On the run from midfield, Rashford halted his run expecting a pass. If he’d continued it he might have been able to divert Greenwood’s shot goalwards at the far post.
50 min: Hats off to Bruno Fernandes for supplying that inch-perfect cross to Rashford after good work by McTominay. He’s such a terrific player – United would be lost without him.
48 min: It’s a let-off for Walker and City as the VAR police decree that Rashford was a little offside as he ran on to that cross. It was a rash challenge by Walker - and not the first one he’s made in various matches this season.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is fouled by Manchester City’s Kyle Walker in the penalty area. Photograph: Phil Noble/PA
47 min: Marcus Rashford goes down under a challenge from Kyle Walker while running on to a cross from the right.
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side. Your minute-by-minute commentator has, however, swapped his pint of first half orange cordial for a large glass of second half Argentinian Malbec. Things, as they say, can only get better.
Peep! Referee Chris Kavanagh draws the first half to a close and the teams walk off with the deadlock unbroken. It’s been a pretty dull 45 minutes of football but one suspects Ole Gunnar Solskjær will be the more pleased of the two managers. Manchester City haven’t been bad, but by their own very high standards they’ve been ponderous and predictable in attack.
Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling reacts under pressure from Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof of Manchester United. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
45+1 min: Sterling advances into Man United territory but is dispossessed by Fred, who seems to have overcome his hip injury from earlier.
45 min: Lindelof is penalised for a foul on Kevin De Bruyne in the bullseye of the centre circle.
44 min: Good play from Pogba, who tees up Greenwood for a shot on the edge of the penalty area. His left-footed drive is blocked.
43 min: More ponderous build-up play, this time from Manchester United.
40 min: Manchester United corner. Fernandes’s delivery to the near post is met by Lindelof at the edge of the six-yard box but the Swede heads over. United have looked dangerous at corners, their players constantly getting the run and jump on their stationary Manchester City counterparts.
38 min: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who’s been having a poor game for United, crosses for the sake of crossing from the right touchline. There was nobody from his team up in support in the City penalty area and he overhit his delivery anyway. A waste of possession.
35 min: Fernandes plays a long pass from deep towards Rashford, but John Stones intercepts. Seconds later, at the other end of the pitch, Gabriel Jesus gets the better of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and passes inside to Kevin De Bruyne, who plays Mahrez in on goal. His shot is blocked and De Bruyne fires the rebound over the bar.
Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez is denied by David de Gea. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
32 min: With a little over a third of the game gone, it’s not been one of the great Manchester derbies so far. Caution seems to be the watchword of both sides as they focus on not losing, rather than winning the game. At least Manchester United can be relieved that they’ve managed to avoid yet another dreadful start to a game.
29 min: Ederson gives the ball away to Mason Greenwood, who tries to tee up Paul Pogba. His shot is deflected over the bar for a corner. Harry Maguire heads the subsequent delivery over the bar.
27 min: Scott McTominay gets a ticking off but no yellow card after conceding a free-kick out by the left touchline. Riyad Mahrez curls a wonderful ball across the face of United’s goal, which John Stones flings himself at head first. Victor Lindelof does enough to prevent him from making clean contact.
25 min: City continue to dominate possession without doing much with it. They go close to scoring when Gabriel Jesus stretches to get on the end of a Mahrez ball over the top after getting the better of Wan-Bissaka. His effort sails over the bar.
24 min: City clear the corner.
23 min: Rodri gives away a free-kick in a dangerous area just to the left of the D, about 35 yards from thge “City goal. Fernandes and Rashford stand over the dead ball. The former shoots it into the wall and the ball deflects off Rodri for a United corner.
21 min: City speed things up a bit, with Sterling playing a quick one-two with De Bruyne as he dashes down the inside left. Sterling takes the return pass, puts Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the seat of his pants as he cuts inside and then shoots into a thicket of bodies on the edge of the six-yard box.
21 min: “This is what you’d expect - United to be sitting back with Manchester City having most of the ball,” says Sky co-commentator Gary Neville. “They’ve been very sluggish in possession, though.”
Paul Pogba and Fernandinho challenge for a header. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
17 min: Running at full pelt Fernandes takes a right-footed swing at the ball, trying to connect with a pass from deep towards the right side of the City six-yard box. He doesn’t make contact and Ederson grabs the ball. It was an ambitious effort but it would have come as no great surprise to anyone if United’s star player had scored.
16 min: City win a throw-in deep in United territory, Luke Shaw putting the ball out of play under pressure from Mahrez. Nothing comes of it.
15 min: Fred returns to action, having presumably been instructed to soldier on by the United medics.
14 min: Fred has signalled to the bench that he is unable to continue in the wake of that hip injury he suffered earlier. Nemanja Matic is warming up as Fred goes to the touchline to receive treatment.
13 min: Kevin De Bruyne slightly undercooks a pass between two United defenders. Gabriel Jesus was ready to run on to it but there wasn’t quite enough zip on the pass.
11 min:Manchester United win a corner after Pogba picks out Fernandes on the right side of the City penalty area with a nice pass. The ball’s floated into the penalty area, Lindelof helps it on its way towards the far post, where Scott McTominay stretches but is unable to steer it home.
Manchester United’s Scott McTominay is unable to connect. Photograph: Michael Regan/Reuters
10 min: City win a throw-in deep inside their own half. They make heavy weather of getting into the Manchester United half, but get there eventually.
9 min: Riyad Mahrez tries to link up with Kyle Walker down the right touchline, but runs into the back of Paul Pogba. The ball rolls out of play for a United throw-in.
7 min: Good news for United - Fernandes is OK. Kevin De Bruyne tries to play Raheem Sterling in behind the United defence with a weighted pass but the England international’s first touch is a very poor one.
6 min: Fred is fit to continue but now Bruno Fernandes is on the deck after Fernandinho “left one on him”. Free-kick for Manchester United halfway inside their own half.
3 min: Fred goes to ground holding his left hip and looks to be in pain after shipping a challenge from Kevin De Bruyne.
1 min: Play begins and it seems Manchester United won’t be playing a diamond formation in midfield. “Pogba is playing high up on the left, Fernandes is playing as a number ten and Greenwood to the right,” says Gary Neville, who is working on co-comms for Sky alongside Martin Tyler.
Pep Guardiola speaks: He seems to suggest that Sergio Aguero had gastroenteritis yesterday and doesn’t feel well today, but wouldn’t have been been playing anyway because they don’t want to overwork him on his return from injury. “Step by step,” says Manchester City’s manager. “Step by step.”
Michael Carrick speaks: Unfortunately we can’t hear what he’s saying, as the United coach is out in the middle of the pitch chatting to Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba during the warm up. Will United go with four across midfield today or play with a diamond with Fred at the base and Fernandes at the apex? Time will tell.
In the blue corner, Micah is upbeat about City’s chances. “It’s more of the same,” he says. “Manchester City have been in good form. People are saying they only beat Burnley and Fulham, but you can only win the games that are put in front of you. They’ve progressed in the Champions League and they just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. They’ve got confidence at the right time, coming up to Christmas when there’s lots of fixtures and everybody seems to be getting fit, coming back into the team from injury.”
“They need to win today,” says the former United captain, who is working alongside Micah Richards for Sky Sports, with Kelly Cates tasked with keeping the duo in line.
“They need to remind people and players and Ole that you come to Manchester United to win big football matches. They need to start quickly, they need to smash into people, they need to make it a derby game. I know there’s no supporters there but you can make that environment yourself.
“Get the ball forward quickly to attacking players because you’ve players high up the pitch that can cause damage. My biggest worry, as usual, is the goalkeeper and the back four for Man United. They will give you nightmares.”
Premier League: Newcastle have just beaten West Brom by the odd goal of three at St James’ Park, Dwight Gayle coming off the bench to score the winner against his former club with a bullet header upon his return from injury.
Newcastle had gone ahead courtesy of Miguel Almiron within 20 seconds, only to be pegged back by a Darnell Furlong wonder-strike on the volley early in the second half.
Those teams: David De Gea keeps his place in goal for Manchester United, for whom Paul Pogba is a surprise starter. Luke Shaw keeps his place in United’s defence, with Alex Telles dropping to the bench. Anthony Martial is also among the substitutes, with Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood playing up front. Nemanja Matic is dropped.
John Stones keeps his place in the heart of the Manchester City alongside Ruben Dias, while Ilkay Gundogan is among the substitutes. Fernandinho starts instead. Gabriel Jesus starts up front for City, while Sergio Aguero does not feature in the matchday squad despite presumptions he would be on the bench.
John Stones walks out for the warm up with Kyle Walker. Photograph: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, Pogba, McTominay, Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood
Subs: Henderson, Bailly, Mata, Martial, Telles, Matic, Van de Beek
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, Rodri, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus
Chris Kavanagh, pictured here reffing a game between Southampton and West Brom in October, is the man in the middle tonight. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Early Manchester City team news
Back from injury and on to the scoresheet during his side’s midweek win over Marseille, Sergio Aguero will not start tonight’s game, according to his manager, but will be on the bench. Defender Eric Garcia is out for a couple of weeks with an unspecified knock, while midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was expected to undergo a fitness test earlier today.
Sergio Aguero will start today’s match on the bench. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
Early Manchester United team news
Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial sat out Manchester United’s defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig but both are expected to be available for selection today.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjær expected to switch from five at the back to a flat back four, Luke Shaw seems likely to miss out on a place in the starting line-up. Despite his personal horror show against Leipzig, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is expected to start at right-back.
There is speculation that Dean Henderson could start in goal for Manchester United, following another unconvincing performance from David De Gea.
Edinson Cavani was to be assessed ahead of tonight’s game after missing United’s game against RB Leipzig with “a niggle”. Photograph: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images
Welcome to our coverage of the 183rd Manchester derby, a game that will be played behind closed doors at Old Trafford but is likely to ferociously contested anyway.
United go into the game in seventh place, one point and two places clear of their rivals after 10 games and eager to make amends following their embarrassing midweek exit from the Champions League.
City, by contrast, advanced to the knockout stages of the Champions League with the minimum of fuss but could find themselves nine points of the Premier League pace being set by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur by close of play this weekend if they lose tonight.
Kick -off at Old Trafford is at 5.30pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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