On the back of a revitalizing victory against Arsenal, Manchester United travel to the Etihad to take on their city rivals Manchester City.
Title aspirant City will look to get all three points in front of their home crowd, while Man United will attempt to keep up the momentum with another big win. But can they cope with one of the most well-drilled teams in Europe?
Being Premier League winners four times in five seasons, Manchester City are used to seeing themselves at the summit of the table.
After eight rounds of Premier League action, however, they are one point adrift of the top position.
Pep Guardiola should not be overly concerned about being at second place right now since they did not get to the top before the 15th gameweek, but they would be keen to keep the pressure on Arsenal or snatch away the top place if the Gunners drop points against Spurs on Saturday.
Manchester City have a squad full of top talents, but the limelight will be on their towering Norwegian striker Erling Haaland.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund star has had an unbelievable start to his Manchester City career.
He tops the Premier League scoring chart with 11 goals in seven appearances.
His prolific start to the season has led many to believe he can break Mohamed Salah’s 32-goal record in a single Premier League season.
Haaland will be undoubtedly delighted if he can achieve that feat, but for now, he will concentrate on making a great impression in his first Manchester derby.
Ten Hag starting to show results
Erik ten Hag had a nightmarish start to life as a Man United manager.
After back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford, he has managed to steady the ship with a string of positive results.
He has shown the courage to bench Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire to prove the point everyone in the team has to earn their place with their performances.
It was a high-risk gamble for the Dutch tactician, but it has paid off till now.
Even though things have been mostly positive in the Premier League, Manchester United’s European campaign did not get off to the best start.
They backed up their fantastic home win against Arsenal with a dismal 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
They did win against Sheriff Tiraspol in the following week, but they were far from their best.
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United project is still in its early days. So, it’s normal to expect bumps along the road. But the opposition they are facing on Sunday will allow minimal room for error.
Manchester United will have to dig deep and reproduce the spirit they had shown against Arsenal to return with something from the Etihad.
Man City’s injury woes
Manchester City’s injury-ridden backline is a worrying factor for Pep Guardiola.
Aymeric Laporte returned to training before the international break but the Citizens might not risk his knee injury rehabilitation by rushing him back in this game.
John Stones clutched his hamstring as he limped off the pitch when England took on Germany.
If both Stones and Laporte misses out, Manuel Akanji will play alongside Rúben Dias at the heart of the City defence.
Rashford’s thigh injury
Marcus Rashford bagged a brace in Man United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, but he is unlikely to feature at the Etihad.
The 24-year-old has suffered a thigh injury, and he was nowhere to be seen in the Man United training photos.
Harry Maguire will be a confirmed absentee as the England international injured his hamstring while playing for England on Monday.
Manchester United have shown in the past that they can cause their neighbours some serious problems.
City have lost four of their last ten matches against United, and two of those defeats were at the Etihad.
In their last home game against United, however, City swept up a 4-1 victory.
Given the recent form of the teams, Man City fans should expect to celebrate another derby win.
