A comfortable win at troubled Tottenham Hotspur and then a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired escape from defeat at the hands of Atalanta have taken some of the heat off under-pressure Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But a more severe test of his side's health will come tomorrow when they host Premier League champions Manchester City in the derby - a game fraught with danger for a United side that has been wildly unpredictable this season.
Such a poor recent record against their neighbours will not sit well with manager Pep Guardiola and there will be points to prove when the whistle blows at Old Trafford. That his side recovered to calmly dispatch Tottenham a week later was admirable, although one of the keys of that victory was the return from injury of defender Raphael Varane as Solskjaer started with five at the back.
United will have plenty of defending to do against City and will have to do it well. But that, combined with swift counter-attacks, has generally been the blueprint for their success against their local rivals since Solskjaer took the helm.City, for their part, will be all too aware that they cannot afford to fall too far behind Chelsea and Liverpool in the title race and after a 4-1 win against Club Brugge in midweek will head across town in confident mood.
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