Patrice Evra reveals his Man United v Man City prediction

Patrice Evra is tipping Manchester United to continue their mini-resurgence under Erik ten Hag by claiming a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in Saturday’s derby showdown.

The Red Devils are preparing to welcome their bitter local rivals to Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime as they look to make it five wins on the bounce in the English top flight.

Manchester United start the weekend in fourth place in the Premier League table and only four points behind second-placed Manchester City, who are second and five points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

A win for Ten Hag’s side on Saturday would move them to within just one point of Pep Guardiola’s men and would lay down a marker for the rest of the season as United chase a top-four finish in the Dutchman’s first campaign in charge.

City head into the game having only won three of their last five games in the English top flight but still having scored more goals (45) than any other team in the league.

Former Red Devils and France defender Evra admits that it’s difficult to predict Saturday’s game, but he is tipping Manchester United to claim a narrow victory and win the derby bragging rights.

Writing in his column for Betfair, Evra said: “We can hurt City, I will never disrespect City, but I think this one is a 50/50 game.

“Sometimes though, when City start well and develop their football in the game you can tell it’s going to be a long day. City are a really, really strong side and it’s a big test for us.

Erik ten Hag (Photo: Mark Cosgrove / depositphotos.com)

“It’s a tough one to predict, Mahrez is on fire for City at the moment. It’s a derby so I’m not expecting a big score.

“I can see it being 2-1 to United, but equally it wouldn’t be surprising to see City win, it could go either way. It can’t be like the last match, they have to learn from that.”

Meanwhile, former Chelsea FC star Chris Sutton feels that the game will go the other way, and is tipping Guardiola’s side to claim a 2-1 victory against their rivals at Old Trafford.

Sutton feels that this game will be a closely-contested affair, but he is ultimately confident that the visiting team will claim all three points.

Writing in his column for BBC Sport, Sutton said: “I am very clear in my mind about how this game will go.

“Manchester United have really improved under Erik ten Hag, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for their progress since the start of the season.

“There is something not quite right about Manchester City, who have not been firing on all cylinders since the season resumed after the World Cup, but I am still expecting them to win.

“Some City players like Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker look out of form, and even Kevin de Bruyne has been below his best, but part of their problem is down to what is known as ‘Pep Roulette’ – Pep Guardiola’s ever-changing team selections.

Pep Guardiola (Photo: Oleh Dubyna / depositphotos.com)

“He gambled in the Carabao Cup against Southampton on Wednesday, when Kalvin Phillips came into midfield for his first start, and it didn’t pay off.

“Guardiola says he has had some “ridiculous” ideas about how his side will beat United, but I am pretty sure it will include giving Erling Haaland a start. He will play his best side and, if they perform anything like they can do, they will win – it’s as simple as that.

“I was very confident City would absolutely smash United in October, and it turned out I didn’t go big enough with my prediction – I said 4-1 and it ended up 6-3. It will be a lot closer this time, but Pep will still collect the points.”