Man City
United Open Carrick Era with 2-0 Derby Win Over City — Player Grades
Carrick era begins as United beat City 2-0; Mbeumo and Dorgu scored amid Donnarumma saves. Good win.
Manchester United began the Carrick era with a decisive 2-0 derby victory over Manchester City, a result built on counterattacks, clinical finishing and a number of crucial saves by the visitors’ goalkeeper.
Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring in the second half and Patrick Dorgu added a second to secure maximum points and local bragging rights. Three would-be United goals were ruled out for marginal offsides, and Gianluigi Donnarumma produced several outstanding saves that kept City in the contest.
Player ratings (out of 10)
GK: Senne Lammens — 7.8: Not really tested for the opening half hour and then made an important save when City had their first big chance. It was his only save.
RB: Diogo Dalot — 7.3: Perhaps fortunate a high challenge on Jérémy Doku early on was only punished by a yellow card.
CB: Harry Maguire — 7.6: Almost handed United a dream start by hitting the bar from a couple of yards out. Bled for the cause, but Erling Haaland stayed shackled throughout.
CB: Lisandro Martínez — 7.4: Threw himself in front of an Haaland shot soon after the break that marked the Norwegian’s first real sight of goal. Physically overpowered the City striker more than once.
LB: Luke Shaw — 7.1: Limited what new City signing Antoine Semenyo could do.
CM: Casemiro — 7.4: Dribbled past a few times and not as forceful in his duels as would have been hoped. But only denied a goal by an exceptional save.
CM: Kobbie Mainoo — 7.5: Carrick has stated in the past how much he rates the home-grown midfielder and starting after not much game time was a statement of that faith.
RM: Amad Diallo — 7.5: Gave Nathan Aké, and then Nico O’Reilly, plenty of problems down the flank. Suits this more advanced role better than being a wing back.
AM: Bruno Fernandes (c) — 8.7: Thrived with the freedom of a No. 10, which hasn’t been seen enough this season due to playing deeper. His vision and passing were outstanding.
LM: Parick Dorgu — 8.5: Gave United natural width high up the pitch that made Rico Lewis think twice about getting forward at will for City.
ST: Bryan Mbeumo — 7.5: Favoured over Benjamin Šeško in the No. 9 role on his return. More mobile than the Slovenian and it showed in the way he was focal to counter attacks. Took his goal really well and deserves credit for the touch that started the move off.
Substitutes: Matheus Cunha (71’ for Mbeumo) 7.4; Manuel Ugarte (81’ for Casemiro) N/A; Mason Mount (90+1’ for Fernandes) N/A; Ayden Heaven (90+1’ for Shaw) N/A. Subs not used include Altay Bayındır, Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Jack Fletcher, Benjamin Šeško.
Man City started with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal and included Erling Haaland up front. United endured City possession but created the clearer chances and produced the finishing moments required to win.
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.
