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The two best club in the Premier League–who also happen to be intense rivals who play their home games about four miles away from each other–meet at Old Trafford on Sunday, as Manchester United looks to gain some ground on a historically in-form Manchester City side.
For viewers in the United States, the match is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network. If you can’t get to a TV or don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the match by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV services. They cost a monthly fee but all come with a free trial, allowing to watch the Manchester Derby at no cost:
Fubo TV: “Fubo Premier” includes NBCSN and is the best channel package for international soccer. A free 7-day trial is offered, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Fubo app.
DirecTV Now: All four channel packages include NBCSN. It comes with a free 7-day trial no matter what package you choose, plus you can get $25 off your first month if you enter promo code “BDAY2017”. You can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app
Sling TV: “Sling Blue” includes NBCSN. A free seven-day trial is offered, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app
Preview
After an absurd start to the campaign that saw City pile up a ridiculous 24 goals during one five-match stretch, Pep Guardiola’s squad has slowed down a little bit as of late, needing a post-80th minute goal in each of their last three fixtures to ensure victories against Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham. The last 270 minutes haven’t exactly been pretty, but the wins have nevertheless continued to roll in, and City boasts 43 points and a plus-36 goal differential through 15 matches, giving them the best start in top-flight history.
City have already disposed of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, the third through fifth place clubs entering Gameweek 16 in the Premier League, and a victory over their cross-town rival on Sunday would push their lead at the top of the table to 11 points, seemingly ending the race before the new year even begins.
United, meanwhile, enters with four consecutive Premier League victories, including a huge 3-1 away win against Arsenal last weekend, but that form may not mean much without the services of Paul Pogba, who was shown red against the Gunners. In the eight matches with Pogba in the starting XI this Premier League season, United are 7-1-0 with an average of 3.0 goals per game, but in the seven matches he missed while nursing an injury, they went just 4-1-2 with just 2.75 goals per contest.
“Of course, any team that loses such a good player, they are going to miss him,” Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho said. “But Manchester United have good players and it doesn’t matter who is going to play in his position, they will do a good job. It will be a tough game for both teams.”
United has just one loss against City in the last five head-to-head matchups inside the Premier League, and they’ll be at home where they haven’t lost a match since September of last year, but with Pogba on the sidelines, and with City’s embarrassment of riches in the attacking half, it’s still going to take a near perfect effort for Jose Mourinho’s side to come away with a positive result.