Man Utd can beat Man City by targeting major weakness in one position

Manchester United have the opportunity to beat Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday by exploiting their main weakness in defence.

The Red Devils have had an average start to the campaign with four points from their opening three league games. They picked up their first victory against Burnley before the international break.

United face arch-rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. They should have fond memories, having secured a dramatic 2-1 comeback win at the stadium last time around.

Ruben Amorim’s side will need to be defensively organised to nullify Erling Haaland’s threat upfront, but they also have the opportunity to pile more misery on City with a third-straight defeat.

Pep Guardiola’s side no longer possess a rubber-tight backline. They have shown a vulnerability at the back, conceding four goals in the last two losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The right-back position has been an area of weakness for City for some time, and this is where the Red Devils need to focus, particularly to outclass their arch-rivals in their own backyard.

Rico Lewis started in the role for City against Spurs. The Englishman won just two out of eight duels contested while losing possession on a staggering 11 occasions over 90 minutes.

Matheus Cunha, who is primarily a midfielder, featured as a makeshift right-back versus Brighton.

The Portuguese won four of his duels but lost possession on seven occasions. He was guilty of conceding a reckless penalty, which brought Brighton back into the game before a comeback win (2-1).

Both Lewis and Nunes have been unconvincing at right-back thus far. United should place emphasis on targeting the position regardless of who starts between the two at the Etihad.

Patrick Dorgu or Diogo Dalot (if fit) could have a big role to play from left wing-back with overlapping runs to link up with the left-sided number 10 or deliver early crosses into the box.

Matheus Cunha is facing a race against time to be fit after a hamstring injury. If he is unavailable to start, Bruno Fernandes should feature as the left attacking midfielder on Sunday.

Stats from Sofascore.com

Article written by Sri Aswin .