#3 Marcus Rashford vs Kelechi Iheanacho
The Manchester derby is one of the biggest and most anticipated game all around the world. Both United and City will field players worth hundreds of millions, but it could well be academy graduates Marcus Rashford and Kelechi Iheanacho that might star in the clash.
Two of the brightest young talents in English football currently, Rashford and Iheanacho have enjoyed great success in their short careers in the first team and on various occasions dug their teams out of troublesome situations.
Rashford, who broke into the first team in the much-maligned Louis Van Gaal-era, has gone on from strength to strength ever since. Scoring on his debuts in all senior competitions that he has played in, he has made a name for himself with his aggressive running at opposition defences. He came on after half-time to score a goal against Northampton in United’s previous EFL Cup fixture and has so far scored four times this season.
Iheanacho has made remarkable progress through City's youth set-up, no mean feat, given the amount of talent at the Etihad. He usurped Wilfried Bony’s place as Aguero’s back-up over the past season and has become a regular under new boss Guardiola. The Nigerian star has the knack of getting into dangerous positions very often. He scored City’s winner at Old Trafford earlier this season and was their saviour again over the weekend against Southampton.
For some players, the pressure of being at the centre on such a big night might prove a little too much to handle. But there is enough evidence from both Rashford and Iheanacho to suggest that they have the temperament to make it at the highest level.
