Manchester City will entertain Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday evening, hoping to pick up a win and continue their solid run of form in the Premier League. The Citizens will be heading into the contest on the back of an impressive 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, whereas the Red Devils drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace in midweek.
Pep Guardiola will probably opt for the 4-3-3 formation with a couple of tweaks from the last game. Ilkay Gundogan might get the nod over Bernardo Silva, whereas John Stones looks likely to make his way back into the starting eleven.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Manchester United
Defence
Ederson Moraes will continue to operate in between the sticks for the upcoming home encounter. Having shipped just four goals over the last twelve league matches, the Brazilian shot-stopper will be hoping to add to the tally of his clean sheets this week.
John Stones will return to form the centre-half partnership with Ruben Dias at the heart of Citzens’ backline.
Joao Cancelo will replace Kyle Walker at the right-back position, whereas Oleksandr Zinchenko will fill in on the other flank as the left-back. Up against Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford next, the full-backs will be expected to stay compact and keep their shape defensively.
Midfield
Rodri will continue to feature in the holding midfield position and could be assigned more of a defensive role to shield the home side’s back-four.
Ilkay Gundogan will slot into the central midfield role, whereas Kevin de Bruyne is expected to start in the attacking midfield position. The former has been in blistering form lately, often scoring for fun, and after a rest, he’ll be raring to go into the Manchester derby.
Phil Foden will have to settle for a place on the bench but might come on in the latter stages of the game if called upon.
Attack
Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez will take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right-wing respectively.
Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for the hosts against Manchester United. The Brazilian international will have to make the most of his chances against the United defence that has kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches across all competitions.
Veteran striker Sergio Aguero might be brought on in the second forty-five minutes of the contest if needed.
