Even in the Manchester derby’s rich tradition of drama, subplots and intrigue, Sunday’s 191st edition can be billed as one of the most significant of recent memory. When Manchester United welcome Manchester City to Old Trafford, an 18-year-old headline story enters a different, potential endgame phase, while a new on-field striker rivalry ignites.
The meeting of these frosty neighbours bookends the expected adieu to the Glazers’ near two-decade stranglehold on United, while up front a first showdown occurs between two young Scandinavian centre-forwards: the home side’s derby debutant Dane, Rasmus Højlund, and City’s Norwegian superstar, Erling Haaland.
