Manchester derby brings sleepless nights for Pep, problems for Amorim

LONDON: Riddled with anxiety about Manchester City's shocking decline, Pep Guardiola will endure another sleepless night as he tries to pose more problems for Ruben Amorim in the Manchester United manager's first taste of the Premier League's most explosive rivalry.

- Agencies

For the first time in years, City go into the Manchester derby mired in even more turmoil than United after a dismal run of one win in 10 games in all competitions.

Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat at Juventus was City's seventh loss in that period, an astonishing collapse for a club that has won six of the last seven Premier League titles, including their current streak of four in a row.

United are hardly in peak form themselves, having won just three of Amorim's six games in charge since he replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag. But Amorim has already inflicted one painful blow to Guardiola this season when his Sporting side crushed City 4-1 in the Champions League in Lisbon on November 5.

City squandered an early lead on that occasion, blown away by Viktor Gyokeres' hat-trick as Amorim ruthlessly exposed the gaping holes in Guardiola's ramshackle defence.