Manchester United were abject in the last Manchester derby at Old Trafford back in November.
Manchester City ran out comfortable 2-0 winners and it seemed the only reason the score wasn't higher was that in the second half Pep Guardiola's side seemed to give up trying to score as they treated it like a training-ground exercise. Arguably an even more damning state of affairs than them racking up goals three, four and perhaps even more.
One of the major lost battles was down United's right-hand side. Phil Foden was deployed out wide and he was successful in isolating Aaron Wan-Bissaka one vs one.
This would ordinarily be where the right-back would thrive in personal duels but Guardiola was smart in making use of the space created to allow Joao Cancelo to overlap and create chances for City to score, which they did twice from that exact move. Ilkay Gundogan's movement into wide areas was another problem Wan-Bissaka did not need down that side.
Wan-Bissaka was completely outnumbered and left stranded by the move which wasn't his fault but it is something that Ralf Rangnick will need to solve to stop it from undermining them in the return fixture at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
In United's 1-1 draw with Southampton, Ralph Hassenhuttl may have helped point out the problem. In his post-match press conference, he said: "It's not a big secret that when they lose the ball the reverse gears are not the best from everyone."
And this was also clear against City last time out. United's forward line was isolated at the halfway line, not contributing anything to the attack but also not being present when the team needed to defend.
But Anthony Elanga may offer the solution to this particular dilemma.
According to FBref, despite being a right-winger, Elanga registers 22.72 pressures per 90 minutes played, which is high for his position, showing how when the opposition win it back he is already applying pressure to hold up their counter.
He also registers 2.23 tackles per 90 minutes played, 0.74 interceptions and 1.37 blocks showing he is contributing to winning the ball back from the opposition as well.
With Cristiano Ronaldo alongside him, it is important that Elanga and also Jadon Sancho are sharp enough to make up for the forward's lack of defensive work. It is likely that Hassenhuttl was referring to the Portuguese No.7 along with Marcus Rashford with his comments to the media even if there's no way of truly telling for certain.
Both Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have shown in recent weeks that defending as a team and creating double and triple-ups on City's creative players before playing forward quickly to take advantage of the opposition's high line can be a successful method against Guardiola's side.
Elanga has been one of United's best players going forward but he's also been highly effective in defensively embodying what Rangnick wants from his squad. On the basis of his defensive contribution from the front alone, he must be guaranteed a starting spot against City if United are to have any chance of securing any sort of result and lay to rest the ghosts of the most recent derby day.
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