Sunday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s current goalkeeping woes, this one isn\u2019t even close.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s yo-yo form has been particularly unhelpful, and the Moroccan also sees off City\u2019s Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes for a place in the XI.<\/p>\n
R\u00faben Dias remains one of the game\u2019s 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\u2019s best available centre back and has the potential to blossom into one of the world\u2019s top defenders. The Frenchman is mature beyond his years.<\/p>\n
Jo\u0161ko Gvardiol\u2019s versatility has been prized at City. He can operate at centre back and left back, and occupies the left side here. Rayan A\u00eft-Nouri is injured and Patrick Dorgu is not at the Croatian\u2019s level. Gvardiol is a commanding physical presence, surprisingly quick for his frame, and has an eye for goal from set pieces and open play.<\/p>\n
In midfield the Ballon d\u2019Or winner\u2019s injury derailed City\u2019s 2024\u201325 campaign. The Spaniard remains the best defensive midfielder on the planet. Rodri is the easiest of picks. Bruno Fernandes\u2019 character divides opinion but his talent doesn\u2019t. The midfielder\u2019s commitment to United is admirable and his passion palpable.<\/p>\n
Tijjani Reijnders has already offered an insight into his outstanding quality following his move to the Etihad. One of the Premier League\u2019s finest debuts saw him demolish Wolverhampton Wanderers and he was similarly effective at the FIFA Club World Cup. The Dutchman oozed class at Milan.<\/p>\n
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. J\u00e9r\u00e9my 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Donnarumma, Rodri and Haaland lead a combined City and United XI of players fit and available Sunday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,179,172],"tags":[342,260,272],"class_list":["post-2755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-manchester-united","category-epl","tag-bruno-fernandes","tag-bryan-mbeumo","tag-erling-haaland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}