Manchester United vs Man City: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

New interim manager takes charge of first game on Saturday

Manchester United embark on a new era as interim manager Michael Carrick makes his bow against Manchester City .

The Red Devils appointed their former midfielder to see the club through until the end of the current campaign after Ruben Amorim was sacked last week.

Carrick beat competition from his former boss and team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to take the hotseat at Old Trafford , and he will begin his second caretaker spell against United’s fierce rivals.

Carrick takes the reins of a side that sit seventh in the Premier League table, three points off the top four.

The former England international takes over from Darren Fletcher, United’s under-18s’ head coach, who guided the senior side to a 2-2 draw with Burnley and an FA Cup exit against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Carrick locks horns with Pep Guardiola, whose City team have lost ground on Arsenal in the title race.

City are now six points adrift of the Gunners at the top, having drawn their last three league games.

They found their winning form once more in a 10-1 decimtion of Exeter in the FA Cup over the weekend.

Man United vs Man City is scheduled for a 12.30pm GMT kick-off on Saturday, January 17, 2026.

The match will take place at Old Trafford.

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting at 11am GMT.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport ’s live blog.

Free highlights: The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel will show highlights from 5.15pm with Match of the Day broadcasting on BBC One at 10.30pm GMT.

It remains to be seen how Carrick will set out his side, but you would expect him to line up in a 4-2-3-1 shape similar to how Fletcher fielded his two teams.

Injury-wise, it’s just Matthijs de Ligt who remains out for the hosts, while Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo could both return after they were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and the Ivory Coast respectively.

As for City , Guardiola is reeling from an injury crisis at centre-back.

Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones are all on the treatment table long term, leaving Nathan Ake, Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne as their only options in the middle.

Out wide, Savinho and Oscar Bobb are both out, although Antoine Semenyo’s January arrival eases that concern slightly.

The former Bournemouth winger scored on his debut against Exeter last weekend and could make his Premier League bow this weekend.

Elsewhere, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush have both been on Africa Cup of Nations duty, with the former knocked out in the quarter-finals with Algeria .

Marmoush is still in Morocco with Egypt in the semi-finals. It seems unlikely that Ait-Nouri would return for this game.

Could United get a new manager bounce on Carrick’s first game? They didn’t get one under Fletcher at Burnley, and their poor run continued in the FA Cup against Brighton.

United held City to a goalless draw in Amorim’s only derby at Old Trafford, and Guardiola’s side aren’t in the best of form coming into this.

It could be a tight game, especially considering City’s absentee list.

Man City to win, 2-1.

Man Utd wins: 80

Man City wins: 63

Draws: 54

Man Utd to win: 11/5

Man City to win: 5/6

Draw: 11/5

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).