It is time for the 195th installment of the Manchester derby on Sunday evening when Manchester United make the trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.
The Red Devils kick off in 13th place, eight points worse off than their cross-town rivals and have lost their last two Premier League games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. They responded to those defeats by edging past Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Czechia in the Europa League on Thursday evening, inching closer to automatic qualification to the knockout rounds.
While they will be underdogs heading into the mouthwatering derby, Ruben Amorim has the players to hurt the out of sorts Manchester City and add to their recent woes.
Manchester United Team News
Manchester United have almost a fully fit squad to travel across the town, with Luke Shaw the only absentee. Jonny Evans could be back in the squad having returned to training ahead of the Europa League fixture against Viktoria Plzen.
Predicted Manchester United lineup vs Manchester City (3-4-2-1)
Goalkeeper
Andre Onana was culpable for Viktoria Plzen’s goal on Thursday, with his poor pass to Matthijs de Ligt intercepted before squared to Matej Vydra for the tap-in. He was also at fault for Nottingham Forest’s second goal in Man United’s 3-2 defeat. So, the pressure is now on the Cameroonian to redeem himself with a strong performance against Man City.
Defence
A back three of Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are expected to start again. They must communicate well and contain City striker Erling Haaland, who despite not being scoring freely off late remains a massive threat.
Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof will be valuable defensive options to have on the bench.
Midfield
Changes are expected to take place in midfield. Kobbie Mainoo was an unused substitute in midweek, so he will be fresh to start here. Manuel Ugarte, who came on in the second half at Plzen, is expected to partner Mainoo in the engine room with Casemiro dropping to the bench.
Amad Diallo operated as an advanced midfielder against Viktoria Plzen and shone, but he could be back operating as a wing-back. On the opposite side, Diogo Dalot should get the nod ahead of Tyrell Malacia.
Attack
Bruno Fernandes is a certainty to start, operating as one of the inside forwards. The Portuguese will be aiming to deliver a big performance, bringing all his experience and creativity to beat City. Marcus Rashford had a night to forget in Plzen, narrowly avoiding a second yellow card before being hooked off. And as Alejandro Garnacho appears more effective off the bench, Amorim could go with Mason Mount besides Fernandes.
Rasmus Hojlund pushed his clam for a start in the derby with a brace in the 2-1 win over Viktoria. This would see Joshua Zirkzee begin the day on the bench.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
