Man City vs Man Utd U21s Manchester derby called off as statement released

· Mirror

Manchester United and City were set to go head-to-head in the U21 derby this evening but the fixture has now been postponed

Saturday night's Manchester derby between United and City's Under-21 sides has been postponed. The two U21 teams were due to meet at the Joie Stadium in Premier League 2 at 7pm.

But the youth team fixture will now be rearranged due to the UEFA Youth League fixture schedule. That competition, which mirrors the Champions League albeit with two fewer games, sees academy sides face each other in six league phase fixtures.

The Blues lost 3-1 at Porto on Tuesday, shortly before the senior fixture, which City won 2-0. United's U21 side meanwhile beat Sabah FC 5-0 on Thursday at Leigh Sports Village.

And because that fixture took place on a Thursday, the U21 weekend fixture has been postponed with the 48-hour turnaround not enough time for the young Red Devils to recover. A new date has yet to be arranged.

United confirmed the news in a short statement on Saturday morning. It read:

> "Manchester United Under-21s' derby match against Manchester City has been postponed. > > "The Premier League 2 fixture was due to take place on Saturday evening (12 September) at the City Football Academy. A new date for the match will be confirmed in due course."

Both clubs will see their senior sides in action at Old Trafford on Sunday (4:30pm).

Enzo Maresca's City will be looking to continue their 100 per cent record this season, having won every match under the Italian so far. United, meanwhile, are hoping to build on Thursday's 4-0 win over Sabah with back-to-back derby victories after last season's triumph.

And City boss Maresca insists United "are going to be ready" despite them having 48 hours less preparation time for Sunday's derby.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said:

> "To be honest, the club mentioned to me that it happened exactly the same last year when the club played Napoli and then, after two days, played Arsenal. > > "Sometimes it happens in football. I don't have any doubt that Man United are going to be ready for that. It just matters to adapt."

When pushed on how Michael Carrick would look to use his resources with a turnaround of less than 73 hours, the City boss simply said:

> "That's a question for Michael. > > "The only thing I can say is it happened and you need to adapt."

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