Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez to both start – Predicted XI: Manchester United vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City face a challenging trip to rivals Manchester United on Saturday, as they look to bounce back from crashing out of the Carabao Cup.

Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a shock 2-0 loss against Southampton on Wednesday night, as City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup without even registering a shot on target.

The Blues will be looking to react to the abject performance in midweek with a win over local rivals Manchester United, where a victory would see them move within two points of league leaders Arsenal.

John Stones and Ruben Dias will both be unavailable for the clash due to injury, while question marks have arisen over the recent form of several first-team players.

United are currently on an eight match winning streak, and themselves could move within one of City with a win on Saturday.

Ahead of the Manchester Derby, here is how we predict the team will look at Old Trafford.

Predicted Team

Irrespective of Stefan Ortega’s glaring first half error at St Mary’s, Ederson will undoubtedly start between the sticks for Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ahead of the Brazilian, injuries have virtually forced Pep Guardiola into starting Manuel Akanji and Aymeric Laporte at centre-back.

Nathan Ake will continue to play at left-back amidst Joao Cancelo’s continued poor form, while at right-back, one expects to see the experienced Kyle Walker start to counteract the threat posed by the likes of Marcus Rashford.

Rodri can expect to make his tenth Manchester Derby appearance in midfield, alongside Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.

Erling Haaland will lead the line for the Blues having scored a hat-trick on his Manchester Derby debut in October.

Despite Phil Foden‘s recent struggles with form, the England international will undoubtedly start, given his success in big matches and performance against United at the Etihad Stadium.

On the opposite flank, Riyad Mahrez‘s recent performances warrant a start for the Algerian, with the winger having scored three previous Derby goals.

Starting XI: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden.

Substitutes: Stefan Ortega, Joao Cancelo, Rico Lewis, Sergio Gomez, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez, Cole Palmer.