Manchester City v Manchester United: Premier League – live! | Football

38 min “‘Fernandinho is fortunate to get away without a yellow card for a cynical foul’,” says Rob Glynn. “Copy this to save time for the next Man City game.”

You’re just jealous of Project Longbow mate.

36 min As Gary Neville points out on Sky, the pace of the game has really dropped. That’s a surprise as a quicker pace suits City rather than United.

35 min Sterling plays a one-two with Aguero and hits an instinctive shot that deflects off Lindelof and through to De Gea. Sterling has been City’s best player so far along with David Silva.

32 min “That entry in the 25th minute,” says Michael Garton. “’Deep dross’ is the perfect term for the type of football United have been playing in recent years.”

I’m nothing if not unwittingly poetic.

31 min Laporte wafts a long-range shot into orbit. City haven’t been at their best in the last 15 minutes or so.

26 min Stones is down. He blocked that Martial shot with, well, his stones. After a minute or so on his haunches, he’s fine to continue.

25 min Martial’s shot from 20 yards is blocked by Stones. Moments later, Smalling loops a header onto the roof of the net from Lingard’s deep dross. It wasn’t much of a chance, with no real pace on the ball. United are looking better after a torrid start.

25 min Fernandinho is fortunate to get away without a yellow card for a cynical foul on Lingard.

24 min Herrera again has his pocket picked, this time by Aguero on the halfway line. Aguero runs to the edge of the area before slipping as he tries to shoot.

22 min The game has calmed down slightly after that blistering start. City are still very much in control.

21 min I can understand why Mourinho preferred the mobility of Lingard, but United are missing Juan Mata’s composure in possession. It looks like a hot potato whenever they get it.

20 min “City may be money dopers,” says Ian Copestake, “but they sure work hard for their inflated coin.”

18 min United enjoy a bit of possession for the first time before Martial loses the ball to Walker.

17 min Sterling nicks the ball off Herrera, who redeems himself with a fine challenge in his own area. This has been the most exhilarating start from City.

16 min Fellaini wins a corner for United. Rashford’s inswinger is headed away by Fernandinho.

13 min Mahrez finds Bernardo Silva, whose shot is blocked desperately by Smalling. United are in serious danger of being taken apart here.

The goal was created by Sterling, who teased Young on the left and curled a superb deep cross that bounced up behind Shaw to find Bernardo Silva. He helped the ball back across goal towards Aguero, who fell over under challenge from Smalling. City were in the process of appealing for a penalty when David Silva collected the loose ball and rammed it into the net from close range.

11 min I’m not sure Martial or Rashford have had a kick yet. Fellaini, meanwhile, is doing some vital defensive work for United.

9 min Aguero’s header is cleared off the line by Young, though he’d been penalised for a foul on Herrera.

8 min Mahrez teases Shaw and wins a corner. United are under so much pressure already.

7 min City look in the mood to not just beat United but give them a hiding.

6 min David Silva clips a lovely pass over Young to find Sterling, who takes the ball down nicely on the run and hits a shot that is deflected behind by Smalling. That move started with a chipped pass over Martial by the keeper Ederson.

6 min The match has started exactly as we expected, with City completely dominating possession.

4 min That was a chance for City. A sweet first-time pass from Fernandino released David Silva on the left of the box. He squared the ball perfectly for Aguero, who got his feet in a tangle and completely missed the ball 10 yards from goal.

3 min “Come on, Jose!” says Matt Dony. “It’s a rare day I find myself supporting Everton and United. Very happy with Chelsea being limited to one point, now I’d love to see a Jose special; frustrating Pep and pooing merrily all over the idea of entertainment, before flipping off the entire stadium and attributing the victory to the fact that Pogba wasn’t playing. Ok, so maybe none of that will happen. But, it’s Jose. You just never know…”

We’ll miss him when he’s gone.

2 min City keep the ball for the first 75 seconds before Bernardo Silva lashes a long-range shot just wide. De Gea had it covered I think but that’s quite a start from City. United’s first touch (I think) will be a De Gea goalkick.

1 min Peep peep! City kick off from left to right. They are in blue; United are in red.

“Correction….” says David Hackwood. “David Moyes did not buy Phil Jones. It was Sir Alex who bought Mr Jones, who was a very promising centre back at the time.”

Thanks David. Me and my memory!

Sir Alex Ferguson is at the game today and looks in good form. He actually bought more members of this United starting XI than Jose Mourinho.

The players emerge from the tunnel to the usual strains of Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now. Before the match, everyone in the ground will pay tribute to those who died during the First World War.

“That is an expensively assembled set of bums warming the United bench,” says Phil Grey. “Phil Jones «only» cost £16.5m seven years ago, but what about the others?”

I still can’t believe David Moyes spent that much on Phil Jones.

An email! “The Manchester Derby, and not even the derby match I’m looking forward to most today,” says Adam Hirst. “If you want a real atmosphere, don’t miss this one!”

Oh I’ll be watching, counting the red cards with a guilty grin on my big dumb coupon.

If you want some pre-match action, Daniel Harris is following Chelsea v Everton. You’ll not believe the score!

Paul Pogba is out with injury, while Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez are on the bench. City’s team is as expected.

Manchester City (4-1-2-3) Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho; B Silva, D Silva; Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling.
Substitutes: Muric, Kompany, Gundogan, Delph, Foden, Sane, Jesus.

Manchester United (4-3-3) De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Fellaini; Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
Substitutes: Romero, Jones, Darmian, Mata, Fred, Sanchez, Lukaku.

Referee Anthony Taylor.

The build-up to this Manchester derby has the perfect balance of excitement and fear for both teams. City will hope to beat United at home for the first time in four years, and perhaps to give them a rare old hiding. United will hope to win consecutive league games at City for the first time since the mid-90s, when City had a seemingly incurable case of Cityitis.

City and United have demonstrated their health in different ways of late. For United, ‘late’ is the operative word. In the last month they have come from behind to beat Newcastle, Bournemouth and Juventus with last-minute goals. City, by contrast, have been so superior that most of their matches have been over after half an hour.

The circumstances are perfect for a modern dust-up, especially if Jose Mourinho is once again of a mind to assert his competitive personality. United are expected to be without Paul Pogba, who scored twice in their crazy victory here in April, and Romelu Lukaku. Let’s be clear: City are strong favourites, but United have a puncher’s chance.

Kick off is at 4.30pm .