Sky Sports football expert Paul Merson has offered his insights on Manchester City's performance as they prepare for the crucial clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite a perfect start to the Premier League season with three wins from three matches, the former England midfielder believes that Enzo Maresca's side is still far from their best form.
In his pre-match analysis, Merson highlighted some of the vulnerabilities that may be lurking beneath the surface:
I don’t think Manchester City are outstanding. But at times, when teams keep churning out victories despite not playing brilliantly, it should make the opposition genuinely concerned.
Sometimes, wins can just mask cracks in performance. However, City possess a consistently scoring Erling Haaland, and they had a solid defensive display in their last match against Coventry City, which is certainly a positive.
The team has some tough challenges ahead – encounters with Manchester United and Liverpool. These matches will truly test the strength of City under Enzo Maresca. If they manage to win both matches and get past Sunderland in between, they will undoubtedly be in the mix for the top spot come the end of the season.
But if they fail to collect at least two points from the games against United and Liverpool, Arsenal could pull away rapidly in the title race. I had Chelsea pegged for third place, but they're already several miles off Arsenal.
The match between Manchester United and Manchester City kicks off at Old Trafford at 18:30 Moscow time.
