Man Utd v Man City: Key stats and talking points

The 199th Manchester derby takes place with City travelling to Old Trafford looking for a win which would extend their lead over rivals United to eight points after just four games. BBC Sport takes a look at the key themes going into Sunday's fixture. For the first time in 28 Manchester derbies, dating back to March 2016, Pep Guardiola will not be prowling the touchline. The former Manchester City boss enjoyed a host of famous victories in this fixture, including seven at Old Trafford alone, but the tide had turned in more recent times, with City winning just one of their past six matches against their bitter rivals. Guardiola's successor, Enzo Maresca, knows all about what this match means, having served as the Spaniard's assistant during City's Treble winning season in 2022-23. His side come into Sunday's game in fine fettle, having made it four wins in a row with a professional victory in Porto on Wednesday. With such a heavy turnover of players during a busy summer of ins and outs at Etihad Stadium, Maresca must have been apprehensive that his new-look midfield in particular may take time to settle, but they have hit the ground running. The 143 passes Elliot Anderson completed against Coventry City last week was more than the whole Sky Blues side managed, while his overall tally of completing 122 passes under high pressure is more than any other top-flight player this season. And then against Porto, teen sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi sparkled on his first start for the club, producing a mature and assured performance that led to praise from his manager and team-mates. "He did a really good game," Erling Haaland said of the most expensive teenager in Premier League history. "The past couple of weeks in training, he has been amazing. I think we have got a gem there, to be honest." Haaland is in pretty decent form himself, having scored five in his past three games. He also loves facing Manchester United, with his tally of eight goals in seven Premier League appearances against the Red Devils only bettered by Mohamed Salah (13) and Alan Shearer (10). [BBC] Carrick looking to continue superb home form Michael Carrick featured in 23 Manchester derbies as a player and enjoyed a memorable first one as a manager last season as his second spell as the Red Devils' interim boss got off to a dream start with a 2-0 win. A repeat of that success would see Carrick become only the third United boss to win both of his first two league games against their cross-city rivals, after AH Albut in 1895 and John Bentley in 1913. It would also be the first time that they have beaten Manchester City in successive league games at Old Trafford since a run of three under Sir Alex Ferguson from 2008-09 to 2010-11. They have enjoyed a superb run at home since Carrick took over, winning nine of 10 league games and scoring at least twice in all of those victories. However, the past three of those wins have come despite the Red Devils conceding two themselves in each game. And their habit of letting in two goals per game is becoming a recurring theme. They have conceded twice in all three of their top-flight games so far, and in 10 of their 20 league games under Carrick. The former England midfielder, though, has enjoyed a superb record against the established 'big six' and Aston Villa , recording seven wins and a draw from his eight in charge, scoring 18 and conceding just eight. [BBC]