Man City have given Manchester United the key to another difficult Etihad derby

The old derby adage about form going out of the window has offered some hope to Manchester United fans who can see their Blue neighbours disappearing over the hill in the title race. But after the last three displays from City, a fair number of their supporters are hoping that THEIR team does not take current form in the showdown with their cross-town rivals.

City proved league status and ability mean nothing in local tussles through their performances between their return to the Premier League in 2002 and Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008. The Blues won four out of seven derbies at home and then pulled off a famous Old Trafford victory through Benjani's winner, all when the Reds were at the height of their powers.

United have turned that on its head in recent years, when City have clearly been the dominant power not only in Manchester but in English football. The Blues have won just one of their last six meetings with United at the Etihad Stadium, losing four of them, the exact reverse of their own record at Old Trafford over the same time period.

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So, while United fans might be heading to east Manchester with some trepidation after the last derby, the most one-sided 2-0 result you will ever see, there are a fair few Blues who are equally unsettled. Had this meeting fallen six weeks ago, when City were at their imperious best, controlling games and squeezing first the hope, and then the life, out of feisty opponents, there would have been grounds for confidence.

But despite Pep Guardiola’s insistence, after every game, that he felt his team were “so good”, the evidence of the eyes is a little different. The last three games - a 3-2 home defeat by Tottenham, a