Manchester City vs Manchester United preview: Guardiola has virtually fully fit squad to choose from

By Ric Turner, Fri 09 November 2018 16:11


Manchester City vs Manchester United preview: Guardiola has virtually fully fit squad to choose fromKevin De Bruyne and Claudio Bravo the only absentees as City prepare to face United

Manchester City vs Manchester United

Competition: F.A. Premier League

Date: 4.30pm, Sunday 11th November 2018

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Anthony Taylor Assistants: G Beswick, A Nunn Fourth Official: C Pawson

Odds: City 2/5, Draw 4/1, United 7/1

Tickets: Sold out

TV: Sky Sports

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Squad (from): Ederson, Grimshaw, Muric, Danilo, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy, Otamendi, Stones, Walker, Zinchenko, Delph, Fernandinho, Foden, Gundogan, Mahrez, Sane, B Silva, D Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Jesus

Injured: De Bruyne, Bravo

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Form guide: WWWWW

Manchester United

Manager: Jose Mourinho

Squad (from): De Gea, Romero, Grant, Lindelof, Bailly, Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Darmian, Pogba, Mata, Lingard, Periera, Fred, Herrera, Fellaini, Matic, McTominay, Sanchez, Lukaku, Rashford, Martial

Injured: Dalot, Valencia

Doubtful: Lukaku

Suspended: None

Form guide: DLWWW

Kevin De Bruyne and Claudio Bravo are the only absentees from the squad as City prepare to face United in the 166th Manchester derby. Manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that he has a virtually fully fit squad to choose from, but is wary of the threat posed by a resurgent Unites side.

"No doubts about that," Guardiola said. "They were able to win in Turin. Juventus are so strong. Apart from 10-15 minutes after the goal from Cristiano (Ronaldo) they were so stable.

"They are aggressive without the ball, everybody runs in front, everybody runs backwards.

"A few weeks ago, they went to Stamford Bridge, one of the toughest places - and drew 2-2 in the last minutes. They are always so complicated."

City's last home game against United at The Etihad ended in a 3-2 defeat, with Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan netting for the Blues. Overall City have won 49 of the 165 games played against United, with 49 draws and 67 defeats.

Predicted line-up: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, Fernandinho, D Silva, B Silva, Sterling, Sane, Aguero

Score prediction: Manchester City 2 Manchester United 1