MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 28: during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford on February 28, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Why Manchester United need to beat Manchester City

The Manchester Derby is this Sunday and if recent history is any indication, it will be one of the most important matches this season in regards of deciding who wins the Premier League title. Forget that this is a derby with two teams who despise each other, a win here can vault one team closer to the title as well as hurt another rivals chances. We will cover why Manchester City need to beat Man United a bit later, here is why United need to beat Man City.

Manchester United is in 3rd place, tied with Arsenal for 2nd and just two points behind Manchester City for 1st. A win here will put Man United back up to 1st place. Manchester United’s issue the past few weeks has been consistency or a lack thereof. One week, they can put up a 3-0 result on any team. And the next week, they can lose 3-0 to any team. Take their last three games, Man United lost to Arsenal 3-0, beat Everton 3-0 and drew to CSKA Moscow 1-1 in Moscow.

Manchester United needs to overcome these inconsistency issues and fast. One thing Man United has fixed is that they are less dependent on one player to score all the goals. When he signed on to United, Anthony Martial broke through and scored his first goal in his first game against Liverpool. Then he scored two goals in United’s 3-2 win over Southampton. Now that guys like Memphis, Juan Mata, Morgan Schneiderlin and even Wayne Rooney are scoring, Manchester United can put out a more balanced scoring attack and make things tougher for the opposition.

Also, this Sunday is a prime opportunity for Manchester United to take advantage of Manchester City’s injury issues. Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri are all out with Vincent Kompany likely coming off the bench, Man City is pretty vulnerable right now and United needs to take advantage of that.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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