Man City
Man City Player Ratings After 2–0 Derby Defeat at Old Trafford
City lost 2-0 at Old Trafford; makeshift defence and blunt attack leave Premier title hopes in doubt
Manchester City were beaten 2–0 on derby day as Michael Carrick outwitted Pep Guardiola in his return to management at Old Trafford. City controlled possession but lacked cutting edge, while United were lively on the break and struck twice in quick succession to seal the win. The result leaves City winless in four league outings.
Guardiola admitted unease before the match, and his makeshift backline looked unsettled early on. Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a series of important saves to keep the score level until United found their rhythm. A double change at half-time introduced Nico O’Reilly and Rayan Cherki, but City could not alter the game’s momentum. Erling Haaland was withdrawn with ten minutes remaining as United closed out a memorable victory.
Player ratings (out of 10)
- GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma — 6.7: Eventually bypassed, but Donnarumma made a string of excellent saves to keep the game at 0–0.
- RB: Rico Lewis — 6.5: Operated in midfield for the most part, but was pretty ineffective. Booked in the second half.
- CB: Abdukodir Khusanov — 7.0: Some of his recovery defending was superb, but Khusanov failed to inspire calm into this City defence.
- CB: Max Alleyne — 6.4: The youngster struggled to settle into the contest, especially with the ball at his feet, and he was withdrawn at half-time.
- LB: Nathan Aké — 6.4: A messy showing was epitomised by his work late on against Amad Diallo, who came ever so close to adding a third for the hosts.
- DM: Rodri — 7.4: It’s been an injury-hit campaign so far for Rodri, and the midfielder who stepped out at Old Trafford looked like a shell of the Ballon d’Or-winning superstar from two seasons ago.
- RM: Antoine Semenyo — 7.0: The January arrival’s quick start to life in Manchester was tamed by City’s fiercest rivals. Semenyo offered a threat throughout but wasn’t able to service those in the box.
- CM: Bernardo Silva — 6.2: His efforts to calm down proceedings did work early on, but Bernardo was often outmuscled, and he struggled to have any impact in the half-spaces.
- CM: Phil Foden — 6.4: Loves this fixture but was smothered at Old Trafford. Foden wasn’t given any room to breathe between the lines, and Guardiola turned to Rayan Cherki for the second half.
- LM: Jérémy Doku — 6.6: City’s liveliest player early, as he so often is, but Doku, despite playing against a booked Diogo Dalot for most of it, didn’t take over the contest as he teased to do.
- ST: Erling Haaland — 5.9: His quiet run of form continued across town. Haaland had just one sight of goal, which the sticky and rugged Lisandro Martínez blocked.
Substitutes
- Rayan Cherki (46’ for Foden) — 6.1
- Nico O’Reilly (46’ for Alleyne) — 6.1
- Rayan Aït-Nouri (80’ for Doku) — 5.7
- Tijjani Reijnders (80’ for Bernardo) — 6.4
- Divine Mukasa (80’ for Haaland) — 5.8
Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Marcus Betinelli (GK), Stephen Mfuni, Ryan McAidoo.
Man Utd (4-2-4) Starting XI: Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo; Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Dorgu.
United’s opener came when Bryan Mbeumo combined with Fernandes to hand the hosts a deserved lead. The second followed when Matheus Cunha crossed for Patrick Dorgu, arriving late to finish off the post and make it 2–0. City had moments from set-pieces and good saves from Donnarumma, but their inability to turn possession into clear chances defined the afternoon.
Analytics & Stats
Opta Supercomputer Lays Out 2025–26 Premier League Forecast as Arsenal Lead the Way
Opta’s supercomputer predicts Arsenal favourites and projects points, qualification and relegations.
Opta’s supercomputer has produced a clear statistical view of the 2025–26 Premier League table, heavily favouring Arsenal while mapping out qualification and relegation probabilities. The model gives Arsenal 84.61 predicted points and a 97.46% chance of the title from their current 70 points. Manchester City sit on 61 points with a prediction of 74.70 and a 2.54% title chance.
The weekend’s results felt significant. Arsenal pulled further clear of Manchester City after a dramatic 2–0 victory over Everton inspired by the record-breaking feats of Max Dowman. City were held to a 1–1 draw against West Ham after Pep Guardiola warned that a slip up would be catastrophic. “Now it’s West Ham that defines the Premier League,” he declared. “Now we go there knowing that if we drop points, it will be over.” After the draw Guardiola insisted: “It’s not over.” The supercomputer remains unconvinced that City can close the gap.
Manchester United have opened up breathing room in the race for Champions League qualification. United sit on 54 points with a predicted 66.03 and a 78.07% chance of qualifying after a convincing 3–1 win over Aston Villa. “We are in a good position at the moment,” Michael Carrick admitted, “but still a lot to play for.”
The model projects Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea to contest the remaining top-six positions, with Liverpool on 49 points and a predicted 61.80 (34.09% chance), and Chelsea on 48 points and a predicted 60.52 (23.21% chance). Dominik Szoboszlai captured the mood after Liverpool’s 1–1 draw with Tottenham: “We have to wake up because if we carry on like this, we should be happy with the Conference League.”
At the bottom, the supercomputer gives Burnley and Wolves near-certain relegation, while Leeds, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and West Ham occupy the zone of greatest uncertainty. Tottenham headed into the weekend one point above the relegation zone and ended it level with Leeds, Forest and West Ham; the mood in north London has lifted after they ended their losing run.
The Opta projection frames the current landscape: Arsenal clear favourites, City still dangerous, United pushing for the top three, and a congested battle for European places and survival.
Man City
City Held 1-1 by West Ham as Silva Scores and Donnarumma Error Costs Lead
Silva gave City the lead and Donnarumma’s corner error allowed Mavropanos to level the score. Later.
Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United on Saturday, a result that followed Wednesday’s defeat by Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in the 31st minute. He made an overlapping run around Omar Marmoush, who fed him a diagonal ball towards the corner of West Ham’s box. Silva chipped the ball past the fingertips of Mads Hermansen to put City ahead.
The lead lasted four minutes. Gianluigi Donnarumma misread the flight of West Ham’s corner kick and the floating ball found the head of Konstantinos Mavropanos to level the score.
City pressed late but could not find a winner. In the final 10 minutes the visitors produced nine shots and four corner kicks. City are now nine points behind league leaders Arsenal and are deeper in trouble after earlier dropping points to Nottingham Forest.
Erling Haaland remains without a goal since Feb. 11 across all competitions. He spent much of the match surrounded by maroon shirts and appeared largely peripheral for the first 70 minutes. City took 15 corner kicks, many aimed at the 6’5 forward on the goal line, but Haaland created one real chance and had a single shot on frame, becoming more involved only in the final 20 minutes.
Player ratings
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma — 6.3: Completely misread the flight of the ball on West Ham’s only corner kick, resulting in Mavropano’s equalizer.
RB: Matheus Nunes — 7.0
CB: Abdukodir Khusanov — 7.7
CB: Marc Guéhi — 7.8
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri — 8.0
DM: Rodri — 7.8
RW: Antoine Semenyo — 6.2
AM: Bernardo Silva — 7.7
LW: Nico O’Reilly — 7.2
ST: Erling Haaland — 6.6
ST: Omar Marmoush — 7.4
Subs used: Jérémy Doku (60’ for Aït-Nouri) — 6.6; Rayan Cherki (60’ for Marmoush) — 6.8; Phil Foden (75’ for Semenyo) — 6.1; Tijjani Reijnders (75’ for Silva) — 6.9.
Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Nathan Aké, Rúben Dias, Rúben Dias, Mateo Kovačić, Nico González.
Match statistics (West Ham v Man City): Possession 29% v 71%, xG 0.54 v 2.06, Total shots 1 v 24, Shots on target 1 v 6, Big chances 1 v 1, Passing accuracy 75% v 91%, Fouls committed 14 v 5.
Arsenal
Fixture runs could define the title race as Arsenal and Man City prepare to resume
After a 1-1 draw with West Ham, Man City have dropped points twice and trail Arsenal by nine points.
The Premier League title race took another twist after Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by 17th place West Ham United. The result left the title chasers, who still have a game in hand, having dropped points in their last two matches and vulnerable to Mikel Arteta’s side moving further clear.
Arsenal (70 points) and Man City (61 points) now face a sequence of fixtures that could determine the outcome of the campaign.
Arsenal fixtures:
Bournemouth (H) – April 11
Man City (A) – April 19
Newcastle (H) – April 25
Fulham (H) – May 2
Brentford (H) – May 9
Man City fixtures:
Chelsea (A) – April 12
Arsenal (H) – April 19
Burnley (A) – April 26
Everton (A) – May 2
West Ham (A) – May 9
Both clubs pause Premier League action for the March international break because of the Carabao Cup final. The sides meet at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 22, before domestic fixtures resume.
When league play restarts Arsenal will host Bournemouth at the Emirates. The two met earlier this season in a narrow 3-2 result in Bournemouth’s favour, and Arsenal will seek a more convincing display on home soil.
City travel to Stamford Bridge next, a difficult test despite Chelsea’s recent struggles. The return to league duty includes the pivotal meeting between the two leaders on April 19, with City holding the home advantage. That fixture could be decisive, particularly if the Sky Blues are affected by European commitments after failing to overturn a three-goal deficit to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.
After the head-to-head, Arsenal welcome Newcastle United, a side that has troubled the north Londoners at times under Eddie Howe. Man City’s April finish is comparatively gentler on paper, with a visit to relegation-bound Burnley followed by trips to Everton and West Ham. Both runs carry challenges; form and fine margins will likely decide the title.
