Man Utd vs. Man City: Shaun Wright-Phillips explains why champions can be defeated

The Manchester derby is this weekend.

Former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips explained why he believes Manchester United could spring a surprise this weekend.

The Manchester derby is the first meeting of the two sides this season, and while United languish in mid-table after early-campaign struggles in Erik ten Hag’s second year at Old Trafford, City are again favourites to retain the Premier League title.

However, derbies often produce upsets, and Wright-Phillips told Betway that, speaking from his own experience, it can sometimes produced surprise results, and United will put in a better performance.

He explained: “If you go off performances, I would imagine that City would steamroll them, especially after watching United against Sheffield United. But that’s never the case – it’s a derby. Derbies are completely different. 

"I remember playing when Man Utd were dominating the Premier League, and City were just ambling through mid-table, but that game changes everything.

"Both sets of players know the culture of Manchester, they know how much it means to the fans and the club. It’s almost bragging rights, isn’t it?

"Even if your team is doing worse than the other team, the fans will brag about that for the rest of the season, and kids will go to school bragging about it to other kids. It will be completely different.

"We’ll see a completely different Man Utd to what we’ve seen so far this season, I’d imagine."