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Manchester City will face cross-town rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side has been unbeaten so far in the Premier League. They will come to this encounter on the back of a thumping 6-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
On the other hand, Manchester United will make the trip back from Turin after having attained a dramatic comeback victory against Juventus. Both United and City won one each of the two matches they played in the Premier League last season. Actually, both these sides defeated each other away from home last season.
Their last match at the Etihad resulted in a 3-2 victory for Jose Mourinho’s team as a brace from Paul Pogba and a goal by Chris Smalling ensured that the Red Devils overturned the outcome after being down by two goals at halftime.
Right now, the Cityzens are in scintillating form and it is difficult to expect them to dip their performance levels in such a crucial match.
Thereby, here we predict Manchester City’s strongest XI for one of their most important matches of the season.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Firstly, Ederson would definitely start as the custodian for Guardiola’s team. The Brazilian goalkeeper is one of the first names on the team sheet. His consistency is commendable and that ensures that he remains in the good books of the manager.
Ederson has already saved 19 shots in 11 appearances this season. He has conceded only four goals and kept seven clean sheets so far. He is a brave goalkeeper who does not refrain from coming out of his line to clear or punch out crosses and corner kicks.
As City usually deploy a very high backline, Ederson is prone to being tested in one-v-one situations. In such instances, he keeps his composure, makes himself big and thus tries his best to thwart the danger.
He hardly panics and has used his passing acumen to perfection while playing accurate long balls to ensure that the team does not lose possession while playing out from the back either.
Defence
Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy will supposedly start as the two full-backs in the four-man defensive line. Both of them would be expected to provide width and regular service inside the attacking box. Walker has played in nine Premier League matches this season and has scored once.
He provides 2.1 crosses per match and is regularly involved on the attacking front. He has improved from a defensive perspective as compared to his Tottenham days too and is a leader who Guardiola trusts in challenging matches.
Walker would surely provide a tough competition to his countryman Luke Shaw, who will most probably play on the opposite flank and has had a promising start to the season too. Mendy is also an attacking fullback and has already registered five assists in the league so far. The Frenchman often dominates his adversary by his quick burst of pace and then using his crossing and passing skills to provide sumptuous deliveries inside the box.
Mendy hugs the byline, stretches the opposition’s backline and thus continuously drags the opposition’s fullback wider which accordingly creates space at the centre of the box. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones will probably form the core of the backline. Laporte has arguably been one of the best centre-halves in the league this season.
Both Stones and Laporte are comfortable with the ball at their feet and do not refrain from carrying it ahead and initiating passing moves. It would be interesting to see how they react when they come up against a United side that switches between fluid attacking movements and undertaking a direct approach whenever required.
Midfield
Fernandinho will guard the back line by playing at the centre of the midfield trio. The Brazilian is an underrated part of City’s midfield as he is tasked with breaking the opposition’s attacking moves through timely interceptions and tackles.
He plays as a floater in the midfield as Fernandinho is an integral part of the team during the transition from defensive situations to offensive scenarios. He could dominate Nemanja Matic who has been awry in the past few matches. It is very much possible that Ander Herrera could be asked to close down Fernandinho and disrupt City’s passing moves at a very early stage.
David Silva and Bernardo Silva will flank him on either side and would be primary sources of creativity in this side. In the absence of Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo will be tasked with running through that inner right channel and creating goal-scoring chances through diagonal passes and through deliveries for the forwards.
While Bernardo might not possess the passing range of de Bruyne, he surely matches him in terms of tenacity and work rate on the field. Accordingly, David Silva would link the defence to attack. The Spaniard scored once in the derby between these two teams at Old Trafford last December.
The veteran would be against either Herrera or Fred from the opposite side. How Mourinho asks his midfielders to deal with and neutralize David Silva’s impact in the game would be one of the crucial factors.
Forwards
Gabriel Jesus started and scored a hattrick in the Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk yesterday. The Brazilian has been previously used astutely by Guardiola against United. In the first derby of last season, Jesus dropped back to the midfield and overload Matic thus outnumbering United in the midfield.
If this doesn’t work out, then City obviously have the services of Sergio Aguero who is a lethal goal-scorer and possesses the ability to score during important occasions. In this case, City have a good number of options in the attacking department. Maybe, Jesus could start yet again but Aguero could be brought on as an impact substitute if City are chasing the game.
Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez will play on either side of Jesus. Mahrez has scored four goals in 10 Premier League appearances this season and has been a quality addition to the squad. The Algerian’s slick dribbling skills and play-making abilities are used to perfection by Guardiola who has extracted the best out of the players available for him in the squad.
Meanwhile, Sterling has been in sublime form too and it could be a tossup between him and Sane for the left-wing position. The Englishman is a better dribbler and prefers cutting in from the wing. Ashley Young, who is also Sterling’s international teammate, will be up for a difficult task in containing the former Liverpool star.
Impact substitutes
Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero are two players who could have an instant impact if brought on as substitutes in the match. Both of them ooze class and confidence, and have played in matches of this importance before too.
Aguero already has notched seven goals and four assists this season so far. the Argentine is a clinical finisher and could use his goal-scoring abilities to great effect if required. Sane might as well replace Mahrez and Sterling on either flanks in the second half.
The German is a set-piece specialist and an exceptional crosser of the ball. He creates constant chances and puts the oppositon’s backline into pressure through his consistent, accurate deliveries.
City’s squad is excellent and the quality that they possess on the bench could possibly help them in achieving the desired results in the end.
