THE Manchester derby is usually a battle between an underdog and an overwhelming favourite. 

Whether this was the force of Manchester United in the early years of the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson, or Manchester City in more recent times under Pep Guardiola, there is usually one dominant, outstanding team, but the dynamic going into Sunday’s derby is fairly unusual in that neither team are currently very good.

City seem to have a mini-crisis every season around this time of year before snapping out of it and going on to win at least one trophy.

This season, it has taken them much longer to snap out of it — indeed they are yet to do so.

Guardiola’s side have now won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions. They’re struggling in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

With most teams, you’d have to do some research to see if this is the worst run under their current manager, but with City, this is glaringly their worst of times under Pep.

Despite this, they are just eight points off table-topping Liverpool and just two points behind another supposed title challenger, Arsenal, with 23 games left to go. Twenty-three games is a lot of football. A lot of points can be gained and dropped in a league full of good teams with good coaches who play varying styles which pose different challenges when it comes to match preparation.

Plenty can happen between now and the end of the season: pace-setters can always tire as progress in multiple competitions stretches even the most expensively assembled squads.

Guardiola also believes he knows why City have not been getting results of late, so he is not at a loss as to what is causing this slump.

“I’m really pleased with the way we’ve played,” said the Catalan of his team’s recent performances. “I know from my career when we are playing well and not so well.

“We have to shoot more and cut out mistakes, but we have been in games.

“We’ve not been consistent for 90 minutes but I know the reason why. We just have to keep working and moving forward.”

While City are eight points off the top of the table, United are a further eight points behind City. They are 13th in the table going into the weekend of the Manchester derby, just five points ahead of Everton and Leicester City and one point ahead of West Ham.

There have already been repercussions for this lowly league position. Manager Erik Ten Hag was shown the door and sporting director Dan Ashworth soon followed him out. It marked part of a fairly embarrassing start for new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos as it was an admission that neither their short-term nor long-term plans were working.

New manager Ruben Amorim seems suitably enthusiastic and has an idea of how to rebuild the team. His early results have shown glimpses of promise but also shown that turning things around and adapting players to a new system will not happen immediately.

Regardless of any acknowledgement that United are going through a rough patch, there is still something jarring about looking at the Premier League table and seeing them in such a position.

All of this is occurring against a backdrop of supporter discontent at both clubs as supporters are being taken advantage of and their loyalty exploited by the clubs’ owners. 

Protests have grown from a few groups of hardcore fans at games and are now starting to be seen in the wider fanbase.

Poor results don’t help, but even when they were on their way to winning a record-breaking fourth league title in a row at the end of last season, City fans held a banner in their stadium reading. “Record profits but record prices. Stop exploiting our loyalty.”

United fans have long voiced their discontent with the Glazer family’s running of the club, and protests have already added new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe to the mix.

A sign held at recent protests outside Old Trafford against the rise in ticket prices across the league and removal of concession pricing read: “Local lad Sir Jim charges £66 for OAPs and juniors, stop exploiting loyalty.”

On Friday, City boasted of record revenues across their social media and PR channels, and it almost felt like they were rubbing it in the face of fans who have been protesting against the cost of tickets.

Manchester is buzzing at this time of year, with its Christmas markets and Christmas parties all over the place and a bustling city centre that tests its Metrolink public transport system to the max.

As a result, fans of City and United may be looking forward to activities around the game more than the game itself. 

On this occasion, there is also a sense that fans have a common goal outside the football as well as both being disappointed with on-field results, and there could be further protests on Sunday.

Both teams will be desperate for the win, and even though United haven’t won at City’s stadium since 2021, it’s the first Manchester derby in a while where it feels like either team could win and it not be a surprise result.