Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero. (Photo : Getty Images)
A crucial derby between two reeling contenders of the English top flight, Manchester City FC (15-8-6, 51 points) and Manchester United FC (13-8-8, 47 points), is scheduled to be held at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday, March 20th as the 2015-2016 Premier League season slowly draws to a close.
The match is a pivotal one as it has Champions League implications for the two powerhouse teams next season.
City is currently at the fourth spot of the league table, which is the last berth to qualify for the said club continental tournament, while United is only four points behind at the sixth spot. With nine games left in the season for the two sides, every game counts if they want to qualify again in 2016-2017.
The problem is both squads are struggling right now and are coming off poor performances both in the domestic and continental games.
The Citizens were held by bottom-three team Norwich City to a 0-0 draw at the Carrow Road last Saturday even as they are expected to win the game by a landslide, as per BBC Sport.
It was the fourth winless match by Manuel Pellegrini's boys in their last five outings, with the only win in the stretch coming off cellar dweller Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, United is not that better than City, losing their previous domestic game to West Brom, 1-0, at the Hawthorns last Sunday, as reported by SkySports.
Venezuelan striker Salomón Rondón scored the lone goal of the match for the Baggies at the 66th minute as Louis van Gaal's squad was down to ten men following midfielder Juan Mata's sending off at the 26th after getting booked for a second yellow.
It was the third winless game in the Red Devils' last five matches as they failed to take advantage of City's recent struggles to possibly overtake them and occupy the last Champions League slot.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Manchester City to hold firm their grip of the final Champions League berth.
Manchester City starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Navas, Fernandinho, Fernando, Silva; Bony, Agüero
Manchester United starting lineup (4-4-1-1 formation): De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Carrick; Lingard, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Martial; Rashford
