Manchester City
Combined Manchester Derby XI: Why Donnarumma, Rodri and Haaland Start
Donnarumma, Rodri and Haaland lead a combined City and United XI of players fit and available Sunday
Sunday’s Manchester derby brings two squads packed with top-level talent together for a fixture that asks difficult selection questions. With both teams naming players fit and available, this combined XI picks the individuals who most clearly make the case to start.
Gianluigi Donnarumma could debut in the Manchester derby following his move to the Etihad and will prove a sizeable upgrade on James Trafford, who has endured a mixed start to the season on his return to the club. Given United’s current goalkeeping woes, this one isn’t even close.
At right back the pick goes to Noussair Mazraoui. He has proven to be incredibly reliable for United, often outperforming his more illustrious teammates. Diogo Dalot’s yo-yo form has been particularly unhelpful, and the Moroccan also sees off City’s Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes for a place in the XI.
Rúben Dias remains one of the game’s best centre backs. He still offers composure, leadership and positional intelligence, reasons behind the new contract he signed in the summer. Leny Yoro has made an encouraging start to the current campaign; he is United’s best available centre back and has the potential to blossom into one of the world’s top defenders. The Frenchman is mature beyond his years.
Joško Gvardiol’s versatility has been prized at City. He can operate at centre back and left back, and occupies the left side here. Rayan Aït-Nouri is injured and Patrick Dorgu is not at the Croatian’s level. Gvardiol is a commanding physical presence, surprisingly quick for his frame, and has an eye for goal from set pieces and open play.
In midfield the Ballon d’Or winner’s injury derailed City’s 2024–25 campaign. The Spaniard remains the best defensive midfielder on the planet. Rodri is the easiest of picks. Bruno Fernandes’ character divides opinion but his talent doesn’t. The midfielder’s commitment to United is admirable and his passion palpable.
Tijjani Reijnders has already offered an insight into his outstanding quality following his move to the Etihad. One of the Premier League’s finest debuts saw him demolish Wolverhampton Wanderers and he was similarly effective at the FIFA Club World Cup. The Dutchman oozed class at Milan.
Up front Bryan Mbeumo brings relentless output. He has two goals since joining the Red Devils and last season recorded 20 goals and seven Premier League assists. Jérémy Doku fills the attacking vacancy left by injuries to Omar Marmoush and Matheus Cunha; the fleet-footed Belgian uses his speed to get past full backs. Erling Haaland provides the centre forward role. He is an undeniable goalscorer and colossal presence in the final third, continuing to topple records with each passing season.
Arsenal
Guardiola: Arsenal and Liverpool Look Set, City Must Stay Close
Guardiola expects Arsenal and Liverpool to drop few points and warned City must remain close. Still.
Pep Guardiola has laid out a clear read of the Premier League landscape, saying he expects Arsenal and Liverpool to concede very few points this season and urging Manchester City to remain within striking distance.
Arsenal sit top after dropping points in just two of their opening eight games, those setbacks being a 1–0 defeat to Liverpool and a 1–1 draw with City. Guardiola suggested the title race may return to the high standards of recent seasons after a summer of heavy investment across the division.
“In the Premier League, I have the feeling now that Arsenal is not going to drop much points. So that is the reality. I have that feeling with Arsenal, with Liverpool as well,” the City manager told assembled media ahead of his side’s trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Guardiola defended Liverpool despite recent results. “Now Liverpool lost their last games—not in the Champions League in Frankfurt—but I saw the game against [Manchester] United, they had incredible chances to win the game,” he said.
“So I think Liverpool remain one of the main favourites to do that. And the distance, three, four points at this stage is nothing.
“I always had the feeling that both teams and maybe another one, they will lose few, few points. That’s why we have to be there.”
The “another one” he referenced appears to have been Chelsea, who lost 2–1 to newly promoted Sunderland.
Guardiola mixed sarcasm with resolve when asked about City’s own title hopes, reflecting on the early results. “Well, in the first two games, three games, yeah for sure we [City] are out,” he sniffed. “And Liverpool is already done, and now it looks like Liverpool is done.”
He added a firmer note of intent shortly after. “And I’ll tell you that they will be back.”
The six-time Premier League champion also addressed his critics directly. “I’ve said many times, I know all the pundits, all the specialists or former players, they know everything that is going to happen after five games, I’m not able to do that. So, always I wait for 10, 15 games to know exactly what is going on. ]
Manchester City
How Nike’s Mind Footwear Is Linked to Erling Haaland’s Current Form
Nike Mind footwear, used by Erling Haaland, uses underfoot sensors to enhance sensation and recovery
Erling Haaland has reached new heights this season as he leads Manchester City’s push to recover from a difficult 2024–25 campaign. The striker’s goals have drawn attention not only for their volume but for the unusual technology behind part of his preparation and recovery.
Haaland is one of Nike’s signature athletes and has been benefitting from the sportswear brand’s brand new neuroscience-based footwear designed to help athletes feel “calm, focused and present” both before and after competition. The fresh Mind 001 and Mind 002 sneakers incorporate sensory receptors underfoot that are intended to access key areas of the brain, assist recovery and activate awareness.
Nike places 22 foam nodes on the bottom of the shoe to impart the feeling and even texture of the ground, allowing athletes to feel more connected to their surroundings. The Mind 001 is flexible and water-resistant, while it also offers “easy-on, easy-off convenience.” The Mind 002 “anchors the foot to the footbed for increased sensation and support.”
The two models are the result of more than a decade of work inside Nike’s Sports Research Lab, with Haaland credited for debuting the technology. The neuroscience-based footwear is the opening project on the Nike Mind platform curated by Nike’s Mind Science Department. It was unveiled as one of four major projects revealed by the sportswear giants on Thursday, Oct. 24 alongside Aero-fit, Project Amplify and Therma fit.
“Nike Mind is a new sensory-footwear concept that helps reawaken the foot, the body and the mind,” revealed Eric Avar, Creative Director at Nike. “It represents a new paradigm of performance and how we can potentially make athletes better in the future.”
“Focus is everything in football,” said Haaland, who has been regularly testing Nike Mind footwear over the past five years. “Every step I take, I think of the shoe and what I feel in my feet—which is a good thing. It helps me to bring balance to my game.”
Manchester City
Haaland Moves Past Ronaldo’s Longest Scoring Streak
Haaland’s Villarreal goal extended a 12-game streak across club and country, surpassing Ronaldo. ’25
Erling Haaland extended a run of consecutive games with a goal to 12 after his latest strike against Villarreal. The sequence combines City appearances and international fixtures for Norway.
At club level Haaland has scored in each of his last nine outings for City, one shy of his personal club record of 10. Including his Norway goals, the list below shows the full 12-game run.
Aug. 31, 2025 — Brighton — 1
Sept. 4, 2025 — Finland — 1
Sept. 9, 2025 — Moldova — 5
Sept. 14, 2025 — Man Utd — 2
Sept. 18, 2025 — Napoli — 1
Sept. 21, 2025 — Arsenal — 1
Sept. 27, 2025 — Burnley — 2
Oct. 1, 2025 — Monaco — 2
Oct. 5, 2025 — Brentford — 1
Oct. 11, 2025 — Israel — 3
Oct. 18, 2025 — Everton — 2
Oct. 21, 2025 — Villarreal — 1
The previous best for combined club and country was an 11-game run by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013–14. Ronaldo opened that sequence with two goals against Atlético Madrid and followed with 13 goals across the next 10 appearances to register his longest scoring streak. He did not score in the first leg of that season’s Champions League semifinal, a 1–0 home win over Bayern Munich, but returned to score five times in the three appearances that followed, including two in the return fixture in Germany.
Feb. 11, 2014 — Atlético Madrid — 2
Feb. 26, 2014 — Schalke — 2
March 3, 2014 — Atlético Madrid — 1
March 5, 2014 — Cameroon — 2
March 9, 2014 — Levante — 1
March 15, 2014 — Malaga — 1
March 18, 2014 — Schalke — 2
March 23, 2014 — Barcelona — 1
March 26, 2014 — Sevilla — 1
March 29, 2014 — Rayo Vallecano — 1
April 2, 2014 — Borussia Dortmund — 1
Haaland already sits ahead of Lionel Messi in this specific measure; Messi’s runs ended at 10 in 2010–11 and 2012–13. Messi does hold a separate record of 21 straight La Liga appearances with a goal, but international results prevented a similar combined streak.
Attention now turns to the Premier League mark for consecutive appearances with at least one goal. Jamie Vardy holds that record at 11. Haaland is currently on six and has a best top-flight run of seven games, which he will match if he scores next against Aston Villa. To surpass Vardy he would also need goals in subsequent matches against Bournemouth, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Leeds United and Fulham.
