Rio Ferdinand has backed Manchester United to pile the pressure on struggling Manchester City in this weekend’s derby after Pep Guardiola’s side lost again in the Champions League.
Man City’s shocking run of form continued on Wednesday night as the Premier League champions were beaten 2-0 by Juventus.
The defeat means City have now won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions and leaves them in a perilous position down in 22nd in the Champions League group phase with two games remaining.
Bidding to lift a record-extending fifth successive Premier League trophy, Manchester City’s dismal run has left the champions fourth in the English top-flight – eight points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.
Guardiola’s side play host to local rivals Manchester United this weekend and Ferdinand believes it could be another difficult afternoon for Man City.
United travel to the Etihad Stadium sitting 13th in the Premier League and having lost their last two games under Erik ten Hag’s replacement Ruben Amorim.
Speaking after City lost to a Juventus side currently just sixth in Serie A, Ferdinand told TNT Sports: ‘Man City couldn’t ask for a better game than the one that’s coming up this weekend by the way. The Manchester derby.
‘If they want to get themselves back on track, beating United won’t reinstall every bit of confidence and paper over all the cracks but it will go a long way to reinvigorating this team and squad if they were to get a result.
‘But I’m backing the mighty Reds. They’re in great form as well by the way! It’s a battle of no confidence.’
Manchester City had almost 70% of the ball at the Allianz Stadium but were downed by second-half goals from Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie.
After watching City’s malaise continue, Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘The saddest thing about Manchester City tonight is are you really shocked? I’m not.
‘The way they have been playing recently, the tiredness, we know about the injuries, playing players he’d rather rest.
‘At the moment it’s just hell on hell for Manchester City supporters. They look to me like a team that is not capable of doing it at the intensity they need to do it, at the top level to win these games week after week.’
City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, meanwhile, said: ‘It’s very disappointing. We had chances to score a few goals but at the moment it feels like every attack we concede is just so dangerous.
‘I don’t know, I have a feeling sometimes we are a bit careless with duels, instead of playing simple we overcomplicate things and we missed the right timing to release the ball. Just lose the ball and give them counter attacks.
‘We are built for possession, keep the ball, be strong, if you can’t do anything don’t lose it. At the moment it’s not working out for us.’
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