Neville predicts Man United vs Man City

Gary Neville has revealed his prediction for the first major derby of the Premier League season when Manchester United host Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick’s side have had a rocky start to the season after losing a surprise 2-0 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the season.

The Red Devils bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Ipswich Town but were held to a draw when a last-minute goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles secured a 2-2 draw for Everton.

A 4-0 Champions League victory over Sabah saw United return to winning ways, but they will face a tougher challenge against City, who have made an excellent start to life under Enzo Maresca.

Erling Haaland’s brace against Porto in midweek secured a 2-0 victory in the Champions League, while City also top the Premier League after three wins in their opening three games.

Last season, Carrick began his interim spell at United with an impressive 2-0 victory over City at a boisterous Old Trafford.

And Neville believes that atmosphere can help inspire United to a second successive home victory over their arch-rivals this weekend.

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“I think United are going to win, but if you ask me what the result will be, I would say 2-1 for United,” he said on The Overlap (via Metro).

“If I look at Sunday, it’s a new city and some of them won’t have gone there. [to Old Trafford] or in this type of luminaires.

“I always say that when City go to Anfield, I think Liverpool will probably win, and I think United are a bit like that on Sunday.

“I think City has a very good team, but in reality you have lost a lot of leadership and experience, you have lost a lot.

“I think United is that type of ground, like Anfield, where it can eat you, in ten minutes, it can eat you alive.

“City will probably be the better team for a lot of the game, but I think there will be a ten-minute period where they will become ferocious and so fast that they will say, ‘What’s happening?’

“And that’s probably what we relied on on Sunday: that moment, those five or ten minutes where the earth just eats you up.”