The city has seen ‘shift in dominance’

MICAH Richards believes that United need to resolve their defensive-midfield issues – if they are to compete with City and the Premier League’s other top sides.

Ahead of Saturday’s massive Manchester derby between the two clubs, former City man Richards has been reflecting upon the shift of dominance in the city.

The retired defender-turnpundit believes that since 2011 the Blues have dominated Manchester thanks to their consistency.

“Since 2011 it has been a massive shift,” Richards said.

“Look at the consistency City have had.

“People will talk about not winning the Champions League but we won the Premier League under Roberto Mancini against Sir Alex Ferguson, and then Manuel Pellegrini comes in and wins it, and then Pep Guardiola has taken us to the next level in terms of performance, consistency, breaking record points totals.

“It’s sad for United because growing up they were always a team at the top, a team you wanted to beat because their levels were always so high. So to see their levels drop a bit is disappointing.”

However, Richards doesn’t think United are far away from being able to compete at the top again and only need to solve one troubled position to get back in amongst it.

“They have a squad which looks like it can compete again,” he continued.

“If you look at the squads, I think City’s squad can perform on a more consistent basis,” says Richards. “If you look at it man for man, I think United’s squad is up there.

“I still think they’re a little bit light in that defensive midfield area. I really do like Scott McTominay but I think too much pressure has been put on him in terms of their stature and where the club wants to go.

“Fred is hot and cold, some days he has unbelievable games and then you watch him and he makes basic mistakes.”