Round 31 FA Cup: Manchester DERBY!

(Baonghean.vn) - Tonight (March 20), all eyes of fans will be on the Etihad Stadium, where the "life-or-death derby" between the two Manchester teams will take place in round 31 of the Premier League. A turning point in the race for a place in the Champions League next season.

The race for the TOP 4 in the final stages makes the Manchester derby more dramatic?

In recent seasons, the Manchester derby has always been considered the final match of the Premier League. But in a season where both Man City and MU have played unconvincingly, with almost no chance left in the championship race, the "final" of the year has become a "life-or-death battle for the Champions League". That is the ultimate goal that no one is allowed to lose tonight.

Will young talent Rashford continue to be MU's "hero"?

The statements of the coaches of both teams before the derby seemed to heat up the battle tonight. Meanwhile, the Dutch strategist continued to comfort his players to lift their spirits with the illusion of power: "We just defeated Arsenal not long ago, the whole team is confident that we can do the same with Man City."

On the other side of the battle line, coach Manuel Pellegrini is also confident to nurture the dream of winning the championship: "Man City's goal is definitely 3 points, we need to win to be able to continue chasing Leicester in the race for the championship."

Striker Aguero is the nightmare of MU's defense

The red half of Manchester continued to prove their harmlessness with a series of 6 draws in all competitions and bitterly said goodbye to the Europa League when they lost 1-3 on aggregate to Liverpool in the round of 16.

The Red Devils’ morale was already low, and their playing style was also affected by injuries plaguing a number of their stars. Without Rooney, Shaw, Young, and Valencia in the squad, coach Van Gaal had to rely on young talent Rashford.

However, after a dream start, the “hero” Rashford had to return to earth with rather lackluster performances in the last few matches. The gloomy sky seemed to want to forever surround the “Red Devils” and not want to let go, causing disappointment from fans, making the coach position of Louis van Gaal even more shaky.

Could this be the last Manchester derby for Van Gaal and Pellegrini?

Meanwhile, defeating Dynamo Kiev with a total score of 3-1, the blue half of Manchester has made history by reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League (against PSG). However, despite the excitement, being only 2 points ahead of the team behind West Ham and 4 points ahead of MU cannot be said to be safe. That is the reason why coach Manuel Pellegrini is cautious: "We are preparing to face a strong team with a rich tradition and they will do everything they can to win the Manchester derby". More than ever, coach Pellegrini needs to do something to prove that he is not incompetent before giving way to Pep Guardiola.

The statistics are also completely in favor of the home team Man City. In the last 6 matches in the Premier League, Man City won 4 matches and lost only 1 match and in the last 4 decisive matches at Etihad, Man City also won 3 matches and lost only 1 match. Striker Aguero - who has scored 11 goals in the last 8 matches at Etihad and has a good chance of scoring against MU (7 times) is expected to continue to be the catalyst to send MU home in disgrace.

Obviously, although the voice of history is leaning towards Man Utd, but in the current position, the belief in victory seems to be only for the home team Man City. In tonight's derby, "the winner is not necessarily the king, but the loser can lose everything, just like the situation of the other two captains. Van Gaal had to "retire" in the decline of the Red Devils. Meanwhile, coach Pellegrini understands that the ambition of owner Sheikh Mansour is more suitable for coach Pep Guardiola than himself.

Kim Thuy