It's a fight against the two then although the only reason why I feel Manchester united would be having an upper hand in the race would be because of the influence of the present coach as he was the former coach of the striker and would have more leverage in convincing him to come play and help united in their quest to refurbish the old glory of the Manchester united we know.
At the moment Manchester United should have more luck when meeting Manchester City who in their last ten games have only managed to win one match when hosting Nottingham Forest. So Manchester United can take more steps to make more surprises through their new manager's breakthroughs this weekend when they play as guests at Manchester City's home later. Because Manchester City are in a less than good condition so the level of luck for the match should be more potential for Manchester United to get this weekend.
We wait to see then, because Manchester United having a new coach doesn’t mean they will have a higher chance of winning against Manchester City. Although I know that Manchester City's performance is bad currently and also Manchester United is not that strong that it will convince me to say they will win against Manchester City, United's new coach is trying as well. So let's see what will happen if they meet; I can’t predict the game, though. Because of how their performance is going currently, both of them are not really doing good to me.
Manchester United new coach have really changed a lot because it's clear that the players are showcasing their skills and I see excellent performances from them. Man City have really turned to something else even the underperforming teams are showing their talent when playing against them. Actually, I agree with you that both teams are in the same stage but one is moving in positive direction while the other to the opposite direction. Since man united is recovering we don't expect them with highest performance to defeat any team they faced. The two defeats the faced in their last two matches was never a surprised to me because both teams are in top 5th and it only takes a strong team to secure a slot there.