Ray Houghton reckons Louis van Gaal hasn't "cracked it" at Manchester United yet, but that the Dutchman is well on his way following the Reds' recent upsurge in form.
The Manchester derby will be live on Off The Ball tomorrow and Dave McIntyre will be bringing us commentary with Kevin Kilbane as champions City visit Old Trafford.
"I wouldn't say he's cracked it yet but it's much better," Ray told Adrian on OTB this evening, "particularly against Tottenham and Liverpool ... and now they find themselves in a good position to finish in the top four.
"At the moment (City) are really under-performing."
Ray added: "It's going to be a fascinating game ... who'd have thought at this stage Manchester United would be ahead of Man City."
Here is how much Manchester United's and Manchester City's teams cost in their last Premier League game #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/YH4cUB1PZT
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) April 10, 2015
"Who would have thought we'd be talking about this," agreed Graham Taylor, who was also on the line to review the Premier League.
"It just shows that irrespective of what money you pay, irrespective of what players you have ... there has to be a togetherness.
"I see that missing (at City). They seem to have lost that," added the former England manager.
"Pellegrini surely must sense it. His position is going to be very much under pressure."
QPR vs CHELSEA (Via Daily Mail) pic.twitter.com/8rt51CqO1z
— KABAR CHELSEA (@KABAR_CHELSEA) April 11, 2015
Ray will be in the commentary booth with Newstalk's Nathan Murphy on Off The Ball for Chelsea's visit to QPR (1.30).
"[Chelsea] certainly were playing better at the start of the season but they're still a difficult side to play against," said Ray, who insists "a draw wouldn't be the worst result for Chelsea".
"Obviously they're going to miss Diego Costa with injury at the moment," added the former Ireland midfielder, "but Loic Remy scored two important goals in the last two games."
Ray and Graham start talking about tomorrow's games with Adrian from 23 minutes 21 seconds:
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