Manchester City legend Joleon Lescott warned Manchester United form can “change very quickly”, days before the second Manchester Derby of the season.
Erik ten Hag’s side were handed their heads by Pep Guardiola’s purring blues, who hammered the Red Devils 6-3 in October. However, the contest at Old Trafford appears to be a lot more even, as United are currently enjoying an eight match winning streak, while City were knocked out of the League Cup by 20th placed Southampton.
Victory for United would even see the Red Devils move within one point of their fierce neighbourly rivals in the Premier League. However, Lescott has warned Ten Hag and his confident Red Devils that things can change very quickly.
Read More: Man Utd confirm Wout Weghorst signing – but he won’t make debut vs Man City
“I still think they are one or two seasons away, genuinely, because we’re saying this is form, and when it’s form that can change pretty quickly,” Lescott said on behalf of BT Sports. “The reason why I say that – not just for them because there’s other teams as well that I think are behind Liverpool and City due to the standard that they’ve set.
“We’ve seen Man Utd in the past go 10-12 games unbeaten. But we’ve seen Liverpool and City go and win 10 in a row.
Do you think Manchester United can beat Manchester City? Let us know in the comments section below
(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
“That’s the new normal, that’s a third of the points you need to win the league. So until someone’s able to do that, you can’t genuinely be considered.
“We’ve seen Arsenal do that now and they’re flying at the top of the league and still people are doubting whether they are contenders. So, in regards to Man Utd, I still think they are a couple of seasons away.”
Turn Manchester red or blue by voting in BT Sport Football’s poll on Twitter ahead of the derby.
United are currently occupying fourth place but are only four points away from the Citizens. But while form and confidence may be in United’s favour, City are enjoying a three match winless run over their rivals.
One has to go back to pre-Coronavirus times to find the last occasion which saw United run out winners in a Premier League match against City. Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay were both on the scoresheet and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the manager during that result. However, as people like to say before a derby, form will go out of the window when United and City both cross the white line at Old Trafford.
Watch Man Utd v Man City exclusively live on BT Sport 1 this Saturday from 11:30am. BT Sport Monthly Pass is the flexible, contract free way to watch, for more info visit bt.com/sport
Read Next: