From the start, Ten Hag did not target any titles this season. he just wants his troops to win game after game. although it had slumped at the start of the season, in fact The Red Devils were able to rank 4th in the Premier League standings. in fact, Man United is almost close to Man City, only 4 points away. the meeting match between Manchester Utd vs Manchester City, can be a place to prove as well as reduce the point difference between these two teams. for sure, Man United is on the right track.
Arsenal, can slip up anytime, City is no exception. because City will be visiting Old Trafford, the headquarters of The Red Devils. I know that City's chances are higher than The Red Devils. however, it is possible that Erik Ten Hag's squad will surprise and overthrow Manchester City in the match later.
I agree with you, for Man United now maybe the result will be a little different from their last game against Man City. Even though the squad they have remains the same, it's just that after the world cup, Man United's players have increased drastically compared to usual. Rashford played freely and was able to cover each others with his partner.
Erik Ten Hag has at least given Man United victory after victory, from his last 5 matches including 2 matches in the FA Cup managed to make a landslide victory. In front of his opponent is Man City, of course it is not an easy task for defenders to guard against Haaland movements.
Manchester United have been playing really well after the World Cup but I have to say that those wins were not against bigger teams. Their next match against Manchester City is going to be the decider of whether the coach is on the right track or not.
As you said Manchester United are currently only four points behind Manchester City so this game is going to work as a six pointer game, if Manchester United managed to win this game that is going to give a really good morale boost to their squad as well as make them the third-placed team in EPL.