De Bruyne to skipper City in his final Manchester derby | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne skippers City in his final Manchester derby as Pep Guardiola makes four changes to his team for the trip to Old Trafford.

De Bruyne comes into the Starting XI alongside Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden with Nico, Savinho, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku dropping to the bench for the 16:30 (UK) kick-off in front of live Sky Sports cameras.

KDB announced on Friday that he'll be leaving the Blues at the conclusion of this season so he'll be eager to make an impression in this final hurrah against our neighbours.

It’s not only bragging rights that are available today, the three points would also be invaluable in our search for Champions League football.

We’re eyeing qualification into the elite European competition for a 15th successive season in 2025/26 and a maximum haul this afternoon against Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils would give us a huge boost with the campaign racing to a conclusion.

TEAM NEWS

UNITED XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro, Dalot, Dorgu, Casemiro, Ugarte, Fernandes (C), Garnacho, Hojlund

Subs: Bayindir, Amass, Kukonki, Lindelof, Shaw, Eriksen, Mount, Obi, Zirkzee

CITY XI: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Gundogan, Kovacic, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Foden, Marmoush

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Grealish, Doku, Nico, Reis, Savinho, Khusanov, Lewis, McAtee

TACTICS

Ederson starts in goal and will be protected by a back four of Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly.

Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic will aim to dominate the battle ground of midfield with Kevin De Bruyne offering more attacking impetus to the champions.

Up top, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush will aim to do damage to the United backline.

KDB TO SIGN OFF IN STYLE?

It was an emotional moment on Friday when news of Kevin De Bruyne’s upcoming summer exit from City hit the headlines.

There was sadness, yes of course there was.

But there was also the chance to nostalgically reminisce on just what he’s contributed to our era of excellence, with 19 major trophies to his name.

He's been a Centurion, a Treble Winner, a Champion of the World, a History Maker.

But above all of that, he’s just been Kevin De Bruyne, an astonishing talent, a humble genius and one of the greatest players in the history of our storied club.

We will have chance to celebrate his brilliance at the end of the season but before then, KDB himself will undoubtedly be focused on finishing his final campaign on a high.

That means trying to win his third FA Cup after triumphs in 2019 and 2023.

It also includes helping us qualify for the 2025/26 Champions League, the latest hurdle being today’s away clash with Manchester United.

KDB starts this afternoon and will hope to be a catalyst for three points especially given he’s had a hand in six goals in his last five league games against United – two goals and four assists.

Given his colossal CV in sky blue that shimmers with silverware, surely no-one would bet against him signing off in style?

FODEN RELISHING DERBY DAY

If there’s a man likely to shine against Manchester United, it’s Phil Foden.

Foden, a true blue, simply loves playing against our rivals and neighbours.

And the stats back it up big time.

The 24-year-old has scored six goals in his last five Premier League appearances against United.

He's only managed more goals in the Premier League against Brighton (8) and Brentford (7).

Foden bagged a brilliant brace in the comeback 3-1 triumph over our neighbours last season, after Marcus Rashford had put them ahead, and he also scored the third in a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in the away game on the way to us becoming the first club in the history of English football to win four top-flight titles in a row.

In our Treble-winning season, he nabbed a hat-trick – remarkably one of two in the game alongside Erling Haaland – as we swept away United 6-3 at the Etihad.

Here's to Foden firing again this afternoon!

MATCH STATS

-City have won more Premier League away games against Manchester United than any other side (9). Five of our nine wins have come under Pep Guardiola, the most of any visiting manager in the competition.

-City have won each of our last 14 Premier League away games in the month of April and are unbeaten in 16 (W15 D1) since a 2-1 loss at Chelsea back in 2017.

-The away team has won 10 of the last 18 Premier League meetings between Manchester United and City (D2 L6) and since the 2015/16 campaign, the only Premier League fixture with more away wins is Crystal Palace versus Liverpool (12).

-City have won six of their last nine trips to Old Trafford in all competitions (D1 L2), keeping a clean sheet in four of our last five visits, including a 3-0 win in this exact fixture last term.

-Manchester United have gone eight Premier League matches at Old Trafford without keeping a clean sheet, their longest run since a run of 12 between April and December 2021. They’ve shipped 17 in nine games under Ruben Amorim, with the Portuguese coach having the worst goals conceded per game ratio of any permanent Red Devils manager on home soil in the Premier League (1.89).

-Bernardo Silva has seven Premier League goal involvements against Manchester United (2 goals, 5 assists), his joint-most against an opponent in the competition.