A sense of crisis surrounds the first Manchester derby of the season.
Four-time defending Premier League champion Manchester City is struggling badly.
At the same time, the efforts to rebuild Manchester United under British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe have reached new lows on the field and major problems off the field.
A loss for either team at Etihad Stadium on Sunday would be hard to imagine, as their seasons quickly fall apart.
“Of course I question myself, but I’m stable in good moments and bad moments,” City manager Pep Guardiola said after his team’s latest loss against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday. “Our game will save us. We can do it.”
This is unfamiliar ground for the usually successful Guardiola, who is experiencing the worst run of his coaching career with seven losses and just one win in City’s last 10 games in all competitions.
The 2-0 loss to Juventus left the 2023 Champions League winner at risk of not qualifying for the knockout stage.
In the Premier League, City is eight points behind leader Liverpool, having played one more game. A fifth straight league title seems less likely, and the gap to Liverpool could grow to 11 points by the time the derby begins on Sunday.
If things are tough for City, they are even worse for United.
The 20-time English champion has continued to struggle, despite the excitement from their victory over City in last season’s FA Cup final and changes made to the club’s football operations after Ratcliffe’s partial takeover in February.
A rough start to the season led United to fire manager Erik ten Hag and replace him with Ruben Amorim. Further trouble came last week when it was confirmed that sporting director Dan Ashworth had left after less than six months in the role, following a long process to bring him in from Newcastle.
Ratcliffe, who owns the petrochemical company INEOS and is one of Britain’s wealthiest people, bought a 27.7% stake in United for $1.3 billion with the aim of returning the club to the top of English and European football.
Several new executives have been hired, and over $200 million was spent on transfers in the summer, yet United is having its worst-ever start to a Premier League season and is currently in 13th place, eight points behind fourth-placed City.
Amorim, who won two Portuguese league titles with Sporting Lisbon, has quickly realized how difficult his job is after back-to-back league defeats leading up to Sunday’s game.
He at least has good memories from his time facing Guardiola, having beaten City 4-1 in November in one of his last games in charge of Sporting.
It was a great way to introduce himself to United fans, as he had already agreed to take over at Old Trafford before that match. But he has asked for patience as he works to turn around the club’s situation.
“I already knew it was a big job,” Amorim said, “and I have a long way to go.”
