Cross-city rivals Manchester City and Manchester United face off again on Wednesday as the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie takes place at the Etihad Stadium.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are left with a mountain to climb in order to reach the final after Man City claimed a convincing 3-1 win in the first leg.
Pep Guardiola’s team completely dominated Man Utd in the first leg. Man City silenced Old Trafford with three first-half goals, and the away team could’ve scored many more.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring with an outstanding curling strike before Riyad Mahrez made it 2-0. It wasn’t long before Guardiola’s men added a third. Kevin De Bruyne’s shot deflected off David de Gea and ended up in the back of the net after rebounding off United midfielder Andreas Pereira.
However, United showed some resolve in the second half. City understandably sat back with their three-goal advantage, enabling Marcus Rashford to score a late consolation goal. But Man City’s overwhelming superiority in the first leg cannot be overstated.
The Cityzens are unbeaten in their four games since the first leg. They began by thrashing Aston Villa 6-1 before being held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace. City then claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win against Sheffield United before hammering Championship side Fulham 4-0 in the FA Cup.
On the other hand, Man Utd have been pretty inconsistent since the first leg. Solskjaer’s side secured a comfortable 4-0 win over relegation strugglers Norwich City before edging Wolves in an FA Cup replay.
But consecutive 2-0 defeats to Liverpool and Burnley halted United’s promising run and their hopes of finishing in the top four were dealt a big blow.
Man Utd now sit fifth in the Premier League – six points behind fourth-place Chelsea.A 6-0 win against Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup saw United return to winning ways last time out. But with Tranmere battling to avoid relegation in League One at the moment, that sort of scoreline was expected.
Pep Guardiola made eight changes to his starting lineup for the club’s previous game. Key trio Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, and Kevin De Bruyne were all left on the bench, so they’re all expected to start on Wednesday.
As for United, the absence of top goalscorer Marcus Rashford is nothing short of a disaster for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Meanwhile, injuries to Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay have left Man Utd short on numbers in midfield.
The damage appears to have already been done in the first leg, so City are likely to run away with this tie and book their place in a third successive EFL Cup final.
Forebet predicts that Man City will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory. Man Utd could score, but Guardiola’s men look set to outscore their rivals once again.
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