- City predicted to thump United
- 'United fans should watch from behind sofa'
- 'City will never be as big as United'
WHAT HAPPENED? City have recovered from a slump of results to win their last two games against Brighton and Young Boys while United have had a horrendous start to the season and had to ride their luck in their last three victories against Brentford, Sheffield United and Copenhagen, with Andre Onana saving a last-minute penalty in the latter Champions League encounter.
WHAT THEY SAID: “I can’t see any way in which Manchester United get a result from this game and I would advise that United fans watch it from behind the sofa,” O'Hara told Grosvenor Sport. “They’ve been so poor recently in losing to Palace, then scraping past Brentford and Sheffield United. I can’t see them doing anything in this game.
“I think Manchester City are going to rock up to Old Trafford and absolutely turn them over. They’ve been the far superior Manchester side for years now and I don’t expect that to change on Sunday. I think it is going to be an emphatic Manchester City victory. When you look at how weak United are defensively, the likes of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez are going to have a field day.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: But despite City's dominance over United in recent years, winning six Premier League titles since the Red Devils' last crown in 2013, O'Hara believes the Blues will never match their neighbours in terms of numbers of supporters or prestige. "Manchester United and Liverpool are going to be the biggest clubs in the UK forever because of their history – it’s as simple as that,” O’Hara added. “I don’t care how many trophies you win – you could win 10 Champions Leagues and you are never going to be as big as Manchester United. There’s only one team in Manchester, and that’s Man United.
“History is what matters. Never in a million years are Manchester City going to be as big as Manchester United. We could be playing in 40, 50, 100 more years, we could even be playing on another planet, and United will be bigger than City. City can’t even fill their own ground! Football goes round in cycles – Manchester City are having their time now because they’ve got Pep Guardiola in charge – but I believe Man United will come back, because they’re Man United.
“You can’t compare Manchester City to the likes of Real Madrid. Real Madrid and Barcelona are always going to be Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Liverpool and Manchester United are always going to be Liverpool and Manchester United – no matter what decade. They’re still the biggest clubs in the world. Manchester City are owned by a state and they’ve got Pep Guardiola as their manager, but let me tell you, that will eventually change.”
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY & MAN UTD? The two Manchester clubs, who last met in the FA Cup final, face off at Old Trafford on Sunday.