Manchester City at a crossroads

Any Manchester derby is an occasion to savour regardless of what is at stake, but Yaya Toure believes Thursday’s meeting at the Etihad has the potential to be something extra — a Champions League play-off which could shape of the future of both clubs.

City, who have sat comfortably above their rivals for most of the season, have suddenly woken up to the feeling that United, like a stalking rival on the last lap of a 10,000m race, have come from nowhere to hover ominously behind them ahead of the final straight.

United’s progress hasn’t exactly been spectacular, it has been hindered by poor performances, frustrating home draws and injuries to big players, most recently their talisman striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but nevertheless they haven’t lost in 23 league games, a run stretching all the way back to October 2016, and go into Thursday’s key fixture in a better psychological state than their opponents who are still feeling the pain of an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal.