Man City v Man Utd: Key stats and talking points

The Etihad is set to host to the 197th Manchester derby this weekend with both City and United enduring indifferent starts this season. BBC Sport explores some key themes as this historic rivalry continues.

Three points from a possible nine represents Pep Guardiola's worst start to any league season, while 21 years have passed since Manchester City were last beaten in two of their opening three Premier League matches.

The previous time City lost three of their first four top-flight games was in 1995-96 under Alan Ball. That campaign ended in relegation and while that is almost certainly not going to happen to this side, defeat here could see them fall nine points behind the early pacesetters Liverpool.

Guardiola will again look to the in-form Erling Haaland to fire his side to victory. The 25-year-old scored a hat-trick in his first Manchester derby in 2022 and warmed up for this one by netting five times in Norway's 11-1 victory over Moldova.

It was the third five-goal haul of Haaland's senior career and he has now scored 48 international goals in 45 caps. City's number nine would usually dominate the headlines given the week he has had, but most of the focus during the build-up is likely to be on the club's new number 99.

Gianluigi Donnarumma could become the eighth City player to make their Premier League bow in a Manchester derby and the third goalkeeper after Andreas Isaksson in 2006 and Claudio Bravo in 2016. Neither kept a clean sheet, although Isaksson did appear as a half-time substitute for Nicky Weaver.

Five of the previous seven debutants ended up on the winning side, two found the net and one - Mikhail Kavelashvili - is now the president of Georgia.

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has elected to stick with Altay Bayindir as his number one goalkeeper despite Senne Lammens arriving from Royal Antwerp for £18m on deadline day.

The Belgian will have to wait a little longer for his United debut but is likely to be on the bench on Sunday after Andre Onana's loan move to Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Bayindir has failed to impress in his brief spell as Manchester United's first choice – bar his FA Cup penalty heroics at Arsenal last season - and he is one of just three keepers to make an error leading to a goal this term.

Regardless of who plays in goal, United will be buoyed by the fact they are yet to lose to their Manchester rivals under Amorim, with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad last season followed by a goalless draw at Old Trafford in April.

Listen to commentary of the Manchester derby on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Sunday

You can also listen to 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Manchester City v Manchester United".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds