Predicted Starting Line-Up: Manchester City vs Manchester United (Premier League) | OneFootball

A slumping Manchester City are back in action this weekend as they welcome neighbours Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium for a Premier League showdown.

Pep Guardiola’s side are fresh off the back of defeat in Turin falling 2-0 to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. That defeat paints a bad picture for the Premier League champions, as they have now failed to win in nine of their last 10 matches across all competitions.

An injury crisis has not helped the Sky Blues’ cause either, as all of Rodri, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake were missing from action in Italy on Wednesday night, and reports indicate that a handful of first-team stars remaining in the squad are not fully-fit themselves.

The situation does not get any easier for City this weekend either, with none of the players ruled out of action in Turin expected to return for the visit of Ruben Amorim’s side, whilst Rico Lewis is also suspended following two yellow cards against Crystal Palace last time out.

Nonetheless, Pep Guardiola will have to pick 11 players for the derby showdown with a new-look Manchester United under their Portuguese coach this weekend, who got the better of City in the Champions League earlier this campaign in a 4-1 home win for Sporting CP.

As nerves grow across Manchester among those of a blue and red allegiance, here is how we predict Pep Guardiola will line-up his City side for the visit of their bitter rivals to the Etihad Stadium!

Predicted XI

Stefan Oretga Moreno appears to have stolen Ederson’s spot as number one goalkeeper in Premier League action as of late, and we believe the Germany international should start once again for Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Kyle Walker has taken plenty of stick for his recent performances but the veteran right-back will start nonetheless with Rico Lewis suspended, and could even operate in a back-three given the injury problems facing Pep Guardiola.

Manuel Akanji remains a major doubt heading into the weekend, but with Nathan Ake and John Stones already missing through their own injury problems, the Swiss defender may have to play through the pain on Sunday afternoon, although his availability remains unknown.

Ruben Dias has been a major boost to Manchester City’s rearguard since returning from injury problems of his own earlier in the season, and we believe he will join Akanji in the centre of defence.

With quite literally no other senior defenders fit for the Premier League champions, Josko Gvardiol will occupy the left-back spot as he has done for most of the season, and he will be hoping for better fortunes of his own given recent issues in defensive situations.

Midfield has been the catalyst for the majority of Pep Guardiola’s issues this autumn and winter, but the return of Mateo Kovacic to the line-up should go someway towards helping reset the engine room.

The fitness levels of the Croatia international remain unknown coming into the Manchester derby, but having featured in Manchester City’s matchday squad against Juventus in midweek, one would presume he is ready for some minutes at least.

While Ilkay Gundogan has been a sure starter for Pep Guardiola as of late, particularly in the defensive midfield ranks, he will finally get a chance to rest as Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish take up the remaining spots centrally for us.

The return of Phil Foden is another major boost for the Sky Blues following a battle with bronchitis, and he will likely buzz in and around the central-to-right areas, rotating fluidly with Bernardo Silva.

Back into the middle, Erling Haaland will take up his usual spot at striker, with no natural competition to the centre-forward at the club. The big Norwegian can be a catalyst for a potential turnaround for the Etihad Stadium outfit.

Finally, Jeremy Doku should play out on the left given Manchester United’s defence is the epitome of the phrase ‘can be got at’. The Belgian may be wasteful in the final third at times, but he was Manchester City’s lone attacking spark against Juventus.

Predicted XI: Ortega Moreno; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Bernardo, Grealish; Foden, Haaland, Doku.

Substitutes: Ederson, Simpson-Pusey, Wright, Gundogan, O’Reilly, De Bruyne, McAtee, Nunes, Savinho.