Manchester City will face Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. This is going to be Erik Ten Hag’s first Manchester Derby as a Manchester United manager.
The Citizens are second on the Premier League table with 17 points, one point shy of League leaders Arsenal will face Tottenham this Saturday. Manchester City are still unbeaten in the Premier League after eight games.
Manchester United had turned their season around after losing their first two Premier League matches against Brighton and Brentford. Erik Ten Hag’s side has moved on to win four consecutive games in a row, including defeating Liverpool and Arsenal at Old Trafford.
However, Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he will go for a draw in the Manchester Derby but will fancy a Manchester United win.
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What is Rio Ferdinand’s Prediction for the Manchester Derby?
The Manchester United Icon said on his YouTube channel, Vibe with Five: “The Manchester derby, that’s going to be a big one. Do I fancy United to win it? I think score draw I’m going to go for. Maybe that’s my heart over my head, but I’m going to go for a score draw.
“I used to love playing in the derby. It was a tough game, but I used to love it and after the internationals, I’m sure people will be chomping at the bit to get back in.”
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand has revealed the day he realized Manchester City will become a dominant force.
Ferdinand explained: “When I first signed for United, Manchester City were nothing. They weren’t even on your radar. It was like, ‘yeah they’re local rivals, but they’re never going to win anything – shut up.
“They might beat us, but they’re not going to win the league. If they beat us, it doesn’t mean we’re not winning the league. It was nothing. Then all of a sudden they get that injection of money, they start building and it’s like ‘actually, they’re here to stay.
“The big one was when Carlos Tevez went there from us. At that moment I was like ‘right’ – because we knew how good he was and exactly what player they were getting.
“At the time I was like ‘this guy doesn’t understand the rivalry – what’s he doing?’. David Gill, the chief executive at the time, asked me to ring him, speak to his agent and tell him the club wants to sign you.
“I remember his agent saying to me ‘Rio, it doesn’t matter what money they’re offering, he won’t sign. He feels he’s been disrespected, so that’s it.”
Rio Ferdinand also added that he would not captain any Manchester United forward in his FPL this week.
“Last week I put Son in and he got me the hat-trick. I was thinking, should I captain Son again or not? But I’m going to go with Mitrovic. Home against Newcastle, it’s a tight ground, a tight pitch. Son is away to Arsenal, which is a difficult game.”
