Man United v Man City + underlying data buys
episodePreviously titled “Tactical Preview: Man United v Man City + underlying data buys” — renamed by the publisher on Sep 17, 2026
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What tactical factors will shape the first Manchester derby of the season?
The athletic FC.
Hello and welcome to the Athletic FC podcast with me, Kate Mason. It is tactical preview time, which means we're getting you ready for the weekend's games with a helpful dose of data and analytics. This week is the Manchester Derby.
Joining me in the studio is former England goalkeeper Rob Green. Good morning. Hello, and tactics writer for the Athletic, Tom Harris.
Hi, Kate.
Hello, Rob. You've had a busy week, I understand. You embarked on a rare double header of Real Madrid versus Inter Milan on Tuesday, followed by that away trip to Thorpe Park on Wednesday. Any tactical insights to bring us from either?
Well, I felt like going to Thought Park was a bit like the Champions League this season, is that you turn up full of excitement and then you see the cue and you realise the weight that you're gonna have to have before the really important stuff is happens. But no, I think this is what the the group stage is all about now is is the big teams coming up against against itself and Real Madrid versus Inter is two of the biggest.
Okay. So we're preparing for a roller coaster here today on the Tactical Preview Show. Uh speaking of thrilling twists and turns, it's the first Manchester Derby in ten years without Pep Guardiola. How significant do we feel that is from a tactical perspective?
It's gonna feel weird. Um, but when you do get a glimpse of Enzo Moresca kind of prowling the touchline, you know, you do kind of double take and think, Oh, pep's back. Very similar of vibe um and tactics as well, I think, as as we're gonna get into. I think it's gonna be very similar where we're gonna have Manchester City, even though is that old Trafford, they're gonna go to dominate possession, they're gonna set up and really try and get Ryan Cherkey uh, you know, on the ball in dangerous areas. And Manchester United are going to lean into that kind of counterattacking threat that they have, even though, you know, they're at home, they want a little bit more of the ball. I think the the sensible thing to do here is to really rely on Bruno Fernandez and Bryan and Bermo to get them up the pitch and to hurt Manchester City in that way.
Yeah, and you look at you look at how teams want to progress and want to develop and you're kinda thinking, but this might actually be a a case where they have to revert back to type and you revert back to pep type because that is the way that Moreska's developing the team. Michael Bakarett for a game might turn around and say, Yes, I want to develop this midfield, the way that we're playing. gonna have to be the way that we have been for the last ten years or so against Manchester City.
Well it hasn't just been managerial change for City, of course, with Enzo Riska coming in, but an overhaul of their midfield too. We're gonna get into that in studio shortly, but first here's the Athletics Man City correspondent Sam Lee with the latest.
We're getting more of an idea about how City's new look midfield is fitting together game by game basically. When Enzo Moresca talked about the three new signings, Fernandez, Buadi and Anderson, before they came and in their first couple of days at the club, he talked about how basically all of them could be number six, they could be number eight, they can do a bit of everything, as long as it all fits together it'll be fine. It sounded a little bit woolly and a bit like, well, how is it actually gonna work? But like I say The more games that are going by, the more we can see that actually this fits in together quite nicely. Moresca's plan is actually to use Elliot Anderson as the holder midfielder.
Buadi, as we saw against Porto when he put in that really mature performance, he's also really capable of doing that. Enzo Fernandez, in his two games so far, he's played on the right of the midfield, he's played on the left of midfield. He does do a little bit of everything. He gets a bit forward, tries to make an impact in the final third, knits the paper. Together, tries to play passes in behind for the wingers for Haaland.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What tactical factors will shape the first Manchester derby of the season?
0:01–5:39
2
How has Manchester City’s new midfield (Anderson, Bouaddi, Fernández) been built and performed?
5:39–10:48
3
Can United’s counter‑attacking style exploit City’s midfield changes?
10:48–15:37
4
What are the key midfield strengths and weaknesses for Fulham against Liverpool?
15:37–18:24
5
How can Aston Villa break their goal‑scoring drought against Nottingham Forest?
18:24–22:55
6
Which under‑the‑radar data‑driven signings could impact this season’s Premier League?
22:55–27:39
7
What criteria should clubs use when scouting obscure talent with data?
27:39–32:28
8
What are the main takeaways and predictions for the weekend’s matches?
32:28–39:09
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Athletic FC Podcast
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