Cristiano Ronaldo must repeat Lionel Messi stunt to help Manchester United beat Man City

We can be sure that Ralf Rangnick has spent a rare free midweek at Carrington meticulously developing a game plan for Manchester United's trip to the Etihad this weekend. What we can't be so sure of is United's ability to carry it out effectively, or stick to it for 90 minutes.

Rangnick has already spoken of how his team can fall away from the plan when things go against them and, no matter how effective that plan is, it's very unlikely everything will go their way against Manchester City on Sunday.

United have won their last three games at the Etihad but they have tended to be focused on rapid counter-attacks. In a way, United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were well suited to this fixture, but under Rangnick there might not be as clear an advantage.

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The German has turned United into a more coherent side recently, but they have struggled to maintain performance levels. Last weekend was a prime example when they were good in the first half against Watford but, as they struggled to break the Hornets, down they ran out of ideas and the fluidness in the first half disappeared the longer the game went on.

If United have been finding it difficult to produce complete performances against the calibre of opposition they've faced recently, then doing it at the Etihad for 90 minutes will be difficult.

But all is not lost. While there are teams who have beaten City this year thanks to a finely-detailed plan expertly carried out, they have also been vulnerable to world-class players stepping up to the plate, as just about every team is. Pep Guardiola's side might be the best in Europe so the stage to perform is grand.

Harry Kane and Son-Heung Min did just that to