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This weekend will witness Jose Mourinho's Manchester United travelling to the Blue side of Manchester as they face off against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in what could be an enthralling match between the two tactical masterminds.
Pep Guardiola has continued with where he left off last season as the Spaniard has marshalled his team once more to an unbeaten start, gathering 29 points from 11 matches while also being the league's top goal scorers.
Jose Mourinho and his men on the other side has had a rather poor start to the season that even saw rumours of the Portuguese being sacked before the turn of the New Year being brought up. The Portuguese though seems to have seems to have done another masterclass as his team have finally found some rhythm while also showing glimpses of reproducing the once feared Manchester United 'Never say die attitude'.
Before the Manchester derby is set to take place this Sunday at the City of Manchester Stadium let's take a look at how a team made up of stars from both the sides would line-up.
Stats Courtesy: WhoScored, Premier League
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
Many might argue that the Brazilian Ederson has more clean sheets and can successfully initiate attacks with pinpoint long balls to the attacking line but the fact is without David De Gea the Manchester United side will be in shamble, leaking almost twice the number of goals they have already conceded.
The Spaniard who came on the back of a very poor World Cup in Russia quickly set aside his woes in the World Cup and continued from where he left off last year.
Though De Gea has conceded 18 goals and kept only 1 clean sheet, the 6'3 goalkeeper has already made 40 saves in the 11 matches. The save of David Brooks trick shot in the match against AFC Bournemouth being the latest of his wonder saves.
Defence
Left Back: Benjamin Mendy
Luke Shaw might make a strong claim for a place in this side, but a single clean sheet from 11 matches and a leaky United defence doesn't help with his case. Benjamin Mendy on the other hand though has been quite impressive for the Citizens.
The left-back has 4 clean sheets in the 8 matches he has been involved in the Premier League while conceding just 4 in the rest of the matches combined. The Frenchman has been involved in 14 clearances, 9 interceptions and 53 recoveries in the league with an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.8 clearances per match.
The offensive side of the World Cup winner has been equally good with 5 assists already to his name. The full-back averages 1.5 key passes per match while also posses 87.1 pass completion percentage.
Centre Back: John Stones
The central defensive partnership of Laporte and Stones has been so effective for Manchester City that they have kept 4 clean sheets in the 8 matches they have partnered while conceding just 3 goals.
The Englishman has been in fine form for the men in Blue with the defender having 6 interceptions, 27 clearances and 36 recoveries to his name while averaging 0.8 tackles, 0.8 interceptions and 3.4 clearances per match.
The passing success rate of the defender has been phenomenal, having an average of 72.75 passes per match with a pass succession percentage of 94.3
Centre Back: Aymeric Laporte
The life in the Premier League started quite poorly for the highly rated centre-back, but this season has proved why he was one of the most sought out centre-backs in the world last year.
The Frenchman has all the league matches for the Citizens has helped them keep 7 clean sheets in the process while conceding just 4 goals. The 24-year old has made 14 interceptions, 31 clearances and 54 recoveries while averaging 0.7 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 2.8 clearances per match.
The central defender has also got a goal to his name and is one of the leading pass makers of the league with 975 passes in total at an average of 88.64 passes per match at a pass percentage of 92.2
Right Back: Kyle Walker
It is an all Manchester City defensive line-up for the Manchester XI with the addition of Kyle Walker to the line-up. Such has been the City defence that they have conceded just 4 goals in the Premier League so far.
The Englishman has helped keep 6 clean sheets in the 9 matches he has been part of while making 14 interceptions, 13 clearances and 45 recoveries in the process at an average of 1.2 tackles, 1.6 interception and 1.4 clearances per match.
The full-back has also had an average of 75.67 passes per match with a successful pass percentage of 89.6.
Midfield
Central Defensive Midfielder: Fernandinho
The only real contender for this position, Fernandinho has yet again been a vital cog of the Manchester City midfield line, breaking up attacks, initiating attacks and also scoring goals from the midfield.
The Brazilian has stats of 17 tackles, 16 interceptions, 26 clearances and 65 recoveries with an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 2.4 clearances per match.
The 33-year old has been ever present in the City midfield, playing in all of the 11 matches so far while also having a goal and 2 assist to his name. The midfielder averages 1.1 shots and 0.8 key passes per match. 767 passes at a pass success percentage of 87.9 is an equally impressive stats.
Central Midfielder: David Silva
Arguably the greatest player in the Manchester City history along with Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure, David Silva has continued with his sublime form from last season into this season.
The Spaniard has been once again in fine touch appearing 9 times for the Citizens in the league scoring 3 times while making 2 assists. The 33-year old has so far had 9 shots on target and has made 612 passes, averaging 68 passes per match, at a successful pass completion percentage of 88.1
The former World Cup winner also averages 2.3 shots and 3.6 key passes per match.
Central Midfielder: Paul Pogba
The only Manchester United midfielder who deserves to be part of this team, Paul Pogba has finally started to show some consistency to his Manchester United career. The Frenchman has been heavily influential in all the matches that the Red Devils have overturned a goal deficit to win the match.
The World Cup winner has been part of all the 11 league matches for Manchester United and has scored 3 goals and made 3 assists in the process. The 25-year old has so far had 20 shots on target and has made 700 passes, averaging 63.64 passes per match at a pass percentage of 83.3.
The midfielder has literally taken the past few matches by the scruff of the neck, stamping his authority in the second half of each of the last few league matches that the Red Devils have gone behind.
Attack
Right Wing: Raheem Sterling
The number of different attacking options available at Guardiola's disposal is quite frightening. Riyad Mahrez has been equally good for the Citizens this year but the former Liverpool man, Raheem Sterling, just edges the Algerian out due to the sheer number of goals the Englishman has been involved in.
The 23-year old who has 9 appearances in the league to his name has already been involved in 11 of Manchester City's goal having scored 6 of them while making an assist in 5 other. The winger has had 14 shots on target while hitting the woodwork twice.
The Englishman has an average of 2.3 shots and 2.7 key passes per match.
Left Wing: Anthony Martial
A year out in the wilderness seems to have brought back the boy who took the Premier League by the storm with an impressive goal in his debut against arch-rivals Liverpool a couple of years back.
Anthony Martial seems to have finally resurfaced after feeling the heat of Jose Mourinho's managerial skills with the Frenchman being heavily involved in all of Manchester United's recent goals.
The 22-year old has been in sublime touch scoring 5 goals in 8 appearances for the Red Devils, averaging 0.63 goals per match. 8 shots on target with a shooting accuracy of 73% is an equally impressive stats for the winger with an average of 1.4 shots and 1.5 key passes per match.
Striker: Sergio Aguero
The best goalscorer ever in the history of Manchester City and arguably their greatest player ever, Sergio Aguero seems to be getting better and better with each passing season. This season has seen the Argentine breaking numerous records for Manchester City and breaking into the illustrious 150 Premier League goalscorer club of the Premier League.
The 30-year old has made 11 appearances and averages 0.64 goals per match with the Argentine already being league's leading goal scorer along with Chelsea's Eden Hazard with 7 goals. The 3-time Premier League champion has also made 4 assists and hit the woodwork thrice in the process.
The striker averages 4.6 shots and 1.8 key passes per match.
