Manchester City have won 13 of Guardiola’s 23 derbies in charge, but one United coach proved trickier than the rest
History is against Ruben Amorim as the Portuguese gets his first taste of the Manchester derby in his latest tactical battle against Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard has beaten every Manchester United manager he has faced in their first derby game.
Overall, Guardiola boasts a record of 13 wins, eight defeats and two draws leading Manchester City against their local rivals, with 47 goals for and 32 against. This tells a story of power shifting in a fixture where United were previously dominant – they still lead the all-time head-to-head record with 78 wins, 61 losses and 54 draws.
Amorim’s own record against Guardiola is much more balanced. City put five past Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in 2022, before drawing the second leg. More recently, Amorim signed off on his time in Lisbon by humbling Guardiola’s City 4-1 at the Estádio José Alvalade.
With United making the short trip to the Etihad on Sunday, this is how Guardiola has fared against each of his rival coaches in the Manchester derby.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær (2018–21)
Games: 9. Won 4, drew 1, lost 4
Solskjær is the sole United manager Guardiola did not rack up a winning record against, and the City manager only levelled his win-count in the Norwegian’s penultimate game in charge. An Eric Bailly own goal and a strike from Bernardo Silva in November 2021 left United six points adrift of City, and Solskjær was sacked after following up with a 4-1 defeat at Watford
Until then, Guardiola’s record in the Premier League against Solskjær was less than stellar. After winning their first derby meeting at Old Trafford in 2019, the Spaniard lost three and drew one of their next four league matches. The United manager oversaw two wins at the Etihad, in December 2019 and behind closed doors in March 2021.
The cup competitions were kinder to Guardiola, City beating United 3-2 on aggregate over the two legs of their League Cup semi-final in 2020. A year later, in the Covid-hit one-legged semi-final in the same competition, Guardiola masterminded a 2-0 win at an empty Old Trafford in a season of near-misses for United.
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