Pep Guardiola and his
Manchester City troop have won all three matches in the Premier League and will
stake that record against home side, Manchester United at the Old Trafford.
Guardiola had so far
fielded a five-man midfield which featured Fernandinho as the holding player
with David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne as the central operators. Given the
strength of this trio, Guardiola must decide if Gündogan should be risked
against United, who trailed City only on goal difference.
Manchester United
will not face Sergio Aguero in this derby after the City striker was suspended
for three matches for violent conduct, following an incident involving West Ham
United’s Winston Reid.
Joe Hart, Wilfried
Bony, Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala were among a raft of players allowed to
leave on loan by new manager, Pep Guardiola this summer, so it’ll be something
of a new-look City side that would be up against Manchester United.
For United, Henrikh
Mkhitaryan reportedly sustained a thigh strain while playing for Armenia on
Wednesday night and he had returned to the club, tweeting on Saturday: “My dear
fans, I appreciate much that you worry about me, thank you! I’m now back in
Manchester for treatment and hope to be fit very soon!”
He might not be
available but United have so many options, Marcus Rashford in waiting. For the
time being Mourinho’s front two are set in stone, Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the
main striker with Wayne Rooney just behind him. Anthony Martial had been quite
successful on of the left, and rather more surprisingly Juan Mata had been
getting a run of games instead of Mkhitaryan on the right but Mata’s cleverness
had proved useful in the past.
In the absence of
Aguero, Guardiola could promote Nolito to centre-forward and bring in Jesús
Navas on the left, though he is more likely to keep the overall shape and give
Kelechi Iheanacho a chance to shine up front. The young Nigerian did not let
anyone down when called upon last season and Guardiola appeared to have seen
enough first hand to appreciate his potential
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