Manchester United visit neighbours City on Thursday knowing that victory would take them into the Premier League’s top four.
Jose Mourinho’s men eased past Burnley 2-0 on Sunday to extend their unbeaten league run to 23 matches, and indeed keep the pressure on those sides above them in the Champions League qualification places.
One of which is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who saw their FA Cup adventure come to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, a result which will see former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola endure his first trophy-less season as a manager.
Defeat to United on Thursday would see the Citizens fall outside of the top four, thus throwing their chances of playing in Europe’s elite competition into jeopardy given with just five games after the derby remaining in the campaign.
For Mourinho, the Europa League is still there to play for as well, meaning there is a tangible chance of Champions League football next season.
With that in mind the former Chelsea boss will be keen to continue is overhaul at Old Trafford this summer in order to ensure his side are competitive come August.
One man they’ve been linked with in is Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, who made a name for himself on the world stage with Colombia in the 2014 World Cup.
The 25-year-old has struggled for gametime under Zinedine Zidane this season, making just nine La Liga starts, and as a result is reportedly ready to leave the Bernabeu in favour of a move to Old Trafford.
United’s biggest issue this season has been their lack of a killer instinct, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the club’s top-scorer this season with 28 in all competitions, and 18 clear of the next best Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, showing just how reliant on the 35-year-old they have been.
Their reliance has resulted in Mourinho’s men drawing nine of their 17 home league games this season, of which the vast majority are games they could and perhaps should have won if they had that killer instinct, that extra bit of quality and composure in the final third.
Although Rodriguez has only managed nine La Liga starts and a further eight substitute appearances, he has made an impact when on the pitch more often than not, with four goals and six assists in that time, equating to a contribution every 85 minutes.
And with 17 goals in his first season in the Spanish capital, Rodriguez clearly knows where the back of the net is, but he also has the creative nous that could unlock the defensive units that have done so well at Old Trafford this season.
Ibrahimovic is second in their assists charts this term to further underline his significance to this team (he’s only one behind Ander Herrera), and given that the Swedish star might not even be at the club next season, Mourinho will surely be thinking about who could come in, as next season has to be the one for him and this United team.
The Red Devils have failed to sustain a title challenge this season and could miss out on a top four finish, and although the League Cup success was a timely one and mirrors Mourinho’s first season in charge of Chelsea, the United faithful will be hoping for more next time around.
And that means that signings like Rodriguez need to come through the door, as United have ultimately been too wasteful and not clinical enough in the final third this season to get near the teams at the top of the Premier League.