Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said the international break has made his plans for the Manchester derby a bit more 'complicated' than he would have liked, especially with his South American players returning a day before the clash.
England's League Managers' Association has revealed that the average tenure of a Premier League manager is now little more than two seasons, with 11 of last year's 20 starters already kicked out.
Attack is the best form of defence for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Despite all the hype, however, the match will do well to live up to some of the Manchester derby tussles down the years. Here are five of the most memorable:
European champions Liverpool are second in their Champions League group - a point behind Napoli - and Klopp's side host Genk at Anfield.
Nolito is adamant that he will not allow growing speculation about his club future to become a distraction as he "lives a dream" with Spain at Euro 2016.
Michael Olise scored a stoppage-time penalty as Crystal Palace clawed back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino scored in each half to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday that secured them top spot in Champions League Group E, the first time since 2016 that they had reached the knockouts as group winners.
Four players tested positive for coronavirus in the latest batch of tests conducted by the English Premier League and announced on Wednesday. Russian Premier League club Lokomotiv Moscow said on Thursday that four of its players had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were made to work extremely hard for a 3-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with five games left.
Manchester City's midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure will leave the club at the end of the season having not been offered a new contract, his agent said on Monday.
Manchester United should sack Louis Van Gaal and install his assistant Ryan Giggs as manager, according to former striker Dwight Yorke who wants to launch his own managerial career at struggling Aston Villa. The former Trinidad and Tobago striker said changes were needed at United, with the 20-times English champions sixth in the Premier League, out of the Champions League and suffering a 2-0 loss to arch-rivals Liverpool in the Europa League this week. "At the end of the day, it's all about results," Yorke was quoted as saying by Singaporean daily The New Paper on Saturday after a promotional event in the Southeast Asian citystate. "In the two years that he's (Van Gaal) been there, he's spent tons of money, brought in tons of players, and simply hasn't got the results that he and everyone else had hoped to. "You see a lot of young managers, Zinedine Zidane's been given the opportunity at Real Madrid, you got Luis Enrique at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola who's coming to Manchester City, Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino, they're all ex-players. "And I feel that the game is going down that road, and maybe this is the right time to give Giggsy the job." Yorke won three Premier League titles and the 1999 Champions League with United under former manager Alex Ferguson after joining from Aston Villa.
Manchester City's bid to chop Arsenal's Premier League lead to two points was scuppered as Harry Kane's record-breaking goal earned Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Premier League leaders City said a statue will be erected outside the Etihad Stadium in the Argentine's honour, alongside those of his former team mates David Silva and Vincent Kompany.
On the face of it, Jose Mourinho shouldered the blame for the wounding defeat in his first Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Real Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination to beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in an enthralling and dramatic Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
Manchester City showed that their weekend derby loss was a blip as Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice in a 5-2 win over Southampton
The former Chelsea goalkeeper had to wait for 11 games to reach the landmark and produced an inspired performance that included a second-half penalty save from Watford striker Troy Deeney to help Arsenal seal the win.
Manchester City blew a two-goal lead and had Ederson sent off in a dramatic 3-2 defeat at Wolves on Friday.
UEFA had banned City from European competition for two years after ruling they had breached Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations but City won an appeal last month to have that verdict and sanction overturned.
The 41-year-old has made 640 appearances in Serie A, within striking distance of the 647-game record of AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini. Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Turin club in 2001.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Eldense provisionally suspended all sporting activities on Sunday, the day after a 12-0 thrashing by Barcelona B which was a joint-record defeat in the third tier of Spanish soccer.
Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score twice as Liverpool snatched a sensational 2-1 Premier League win at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has said it is his dream to coach his former side
Liverpool raised the bar so high and enjoyed such a huge winning margin in claiming the English Premier League title last season it would be churlish to doubt their credentials for a repeat showing.
Holders Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to move into the German Cup semi-final and stay on course for a treble of titles on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Images from Wednesday's Champions League matches, between Real Madrid and Paris St Germain, and Manchester City and Sporting CP
Finances aside, though, there is an even bigger question mark hanging over Lionel Messi. Is he a fading force?
Zinedine Zidane is the right man for the job of Real Madrid coach, former team-mate David Beckham said on Monday after the Spanish club sacked Rafa Benitez and replaced him with the French World Cup winner. "Does it get any better than this??," the former England captain, who played with Zidane at Real after joining from Manchester United in 2003, declared on Instagram.
A week later than they would have preferred Manchester City were crowned Premier League champions on Sunday as second-placed Manchester United suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by bottom club West Bromwich Albion.
Manager Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to reinforce their title credentials by beating Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and called on his players to show no fear at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City moved back to second in the Premier League after a stylish 3-0 win over Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Pep Guardiola's side responded to convincing Chelsea and Liverpool wins with a reminder of their class.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Juventus were given a chance to avenge last year's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid when they two sides were drawn together for the quarter-finals of this year's competition on Friday.
If City win their next league game at Everton on March 31 that will set up a Manchester derby at City's Etihad Stadium where a win over their arch-rivals would secure the title.
Barca feel familiar February blues as tiredness sets in
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
