Michael Carrick's Man Utd will be looking to topple Enzo Maresca's Man City from their perch, with the Cityzens having begun the season in perfect form.
City's enviable Old Trafford record
After three matches, they sit atop the league table, and at the time of writing, nearest rivals Arsenal are yet to play Sunderland, to determine whether City will begin their Super Sunday behind the Gunners or not.
Both teams are on nine points with a goal difference of +5, Maresca's side atop the table by virtue of the fact that they've scored seven goals to Arsenal's six.
They head to the Theatre of Dreams in the knowledge that they have won more Premier League away games there than any other visiting side (nine), though they lost on their last visit (2-0) in what was Carrick's first game in charge in this spell of management.
Since that January derby, the Red Devils' former captain has overseen nine league wins out of 10 matches at home, and if he were to steer his side to another victory over City, he'd become the first United manager in 113 years to win his first two home derbies in the league.
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Carrick and Maresca looking to make history
A.H. Albut (1895) and John Bentley (1913) currently hold that honour, whilst Maresca will look to join an illustrious group of eight (including Pep Guardiola, Kevin Keegan and Sven Goran Eriksson) who won their first Manchester league derby.
The visitors would also set a new record of winning their opening four games of a league campaign for the seventh time should they triumph on Sunday (the record of six is currently jointly held with Chelsea), and with 37 goals scored in the Premier League era at the home of their biggest rivals, only Liverpool (41) have more in the same time frame.
The Red Devils have failed to score in four of their last six home matches against City, but with 11 goals in their last three games in all competitions, they are now in decent scoring form and will be looking to add to that tally.
They haven't beaten City twice in a row at Old Trafford since a run of three victories between 2008/09 and 2010/11. However, they do have the edge in terms of Premier League wins against them (13 to nine).
Haaland and Foden love playing against United
The visitors have outscored them in derbies in the EPL era (84 to 81), but United again prevail in terms of total wins (27 to 21, with 10 games drawn).
In Erling Haaland, City have a player who strikes fear into opposition defences. Indeed, his eight goals against United mean only Alan Shearer (10) and Mohamed Salah (13) have more goals against them since the creation of the Premier League, but importantly, only two of those eight have come at Old Trafford.
The Norwegian's 11 goal involvements against United in the EPL era, which include three assists, mean he has more than any other Man City player since 1992/93.
Phil Foden's output against the Red Devils is also noteworthy, with seven goals against them only being topped by the amount he's scored against Brighton. Like Haaland, however, most have come at the Etihad Stadium, with just one scored at the home of their rivals.
Bruno Fernandes leading the way
The seven goals that City have scored this season mirror United's output (only Chelsea have scored more - eight), though the hosts have conceded six in their three games, with three of those coming in the first 15 minutes of the start - something Maresca will be keen to exploit.
Furthermore, two goals conceded in each of their opening three EPL matches this season equals the record from 2020/21, and is just the second time in 50 years that this has occurred.
With 19 shots each on target, both Manchester clubs have the most to date in the 2026/27 Premier League, though United have had the most total shots (68) and the second-highest xG (7.3).
Last season, United captain Bruno Fernandes broke the record for most assists in a season, taking the title that had been jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
His importance to the Red Devils can't be understated, and he's started the 26/27 campaign in fine form again, given that he is leading the top scorers list with three goals and one assist.
The game promises to be another absorbing watch, with the outcome too close to call at this point.
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Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
