Manchester united face a mammoth task of overturning their first leg loss against Manchester City in the 2nd leg of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

United need to win the tie by 2 goals or more should they want to be in the final on the 1st of March.

The task is far simpler for Manchester City after their impressive performance in the first leg of this match, the Blues can afford to lose this game by one goal and still progress to their third successive Carabao Cup final where they will aim to retain the trophy again.

  • Last time out

Both clubs come into this game on the back of excellent results and performances from the weekend in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Manchester United found their goal scoring touch by hitting League One Tranmere Rovers FC for six at Prenton Park on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time The Red Devils had scored that many goals in a match since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot scored their first goals for the club and there were goals for Phil Jones, his first since 2014 and Jesse Lingard for the first time in 13 months, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood were the remaining goal scorers.

City’s strong start to 2020 continued as they dispatched Championship opposition at the Etihad on the same afternoon. The Cityzens cruised to a 4-0 win against Fulham FC with goals from Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and a double from Gabriel Jesus.

  • Last time they met

The last encounter between the Manchester neighbours ended in a comfortable victory for the blue side as goals from Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and O.G. from Andreas Periera gave City a 3-1 win at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford did however give United a glimmer of hope by reducing the arrears with a goal 20 minutes from time.

The clubs’ last meeting at the Etihad will buoy The Red Devils as United produced a fine counter attacking display against their rivals to produce an excellent 2-1 victory. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were the goal scorers that day in a memorable match For Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

  • Recent Form

As previously mentioned both sides come into this game with big victories in the 4th round of the Emirates FA Cup against lower league opposition.

Stretching back a bit further, Manchester United come into this game in a relatively poor run of form having suffered back to back defeats in the Premier League against Burnley and Liverpool prior to their cup match.

Manchester City on the other hand arrive in excellent form having won four of their last five matches scoring 19 goals in the process, however their last home match in the Premier League ended in disappointment as they conceded a 90th minute equaliser against Crystal Palace.

  • Team News

There was a massive boost for Manchester City as Leroy Sane returned to full training on Tuesday for the first time since rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament against Liverpool in the Community Shield back in August. He is unlikely to play any part in the game having just returned from injury. Claudio Bravo is set to start again ahead of first choice keeper Ederson.

Eric Bailly is an option once again for Ole as he was deemed fit enough for the bench against Tranmere and Liverpool. Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay are still unavailable for Manchester United as well as Marcus Rashford. Despite Sergio Romero’s good form in the cup competitions this season, David De Gea is likely to take his place for this match.

VAVEL Logo
About the author