Sunday\u2019s Manchester derby at the Etihad promises to be decided by fine margins and four individual contests look set to shape the outcome.<\/p>\n
Stopping Erling Haaland will be Manchester United\u2019s first priority. Ruben Amorim has had a fortnight to prepare a plan, but the burden may fall on Matthijs de Ligt. De Ligt appears more secure in the middle of United\u2019s three centre backs than in a wider role, with Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw offering protection. The Dutchman has the physicality and speed to compete with City\u2019s No.9, but Haaland demands unwavering concentration from first kick to last. Haaland carries an excellent record versus United, with six goals and three assists in eight appearances, and he arrives in devastating form after scoring six goals over the international break and already having three in the league.<\/p>\n
The injury Omar Marmoush suffered on international duty has opened the door for J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku to make a rare Premier League start. Doku\u2019s pace and directness present a real test down City\u2019s left against a United defence that has not kept a clean sheet this term. Noussair Mazraoui is likely to start at right wing back given Diogo Dalot\u2019s injury and Amad Diallo\u2019s attacking mindset. Mazraoui will need to be disciplined and relentless in his pressure to limit Doku\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n
Bruno Fernandes is expected to operate in a more advanced role with Matheus Cunha absent through injury, and United\u2019s attacking play will flow through their skipper. Fernandes has created 12 chances in three Premier League games. Rodri, who made his first league start in almost a year against Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break, will be tasked with smothering Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo when they drop between the lines. The Ballon d\u2019Or winner\u2019s control of midfield could determine which side controls the final third.<\/p>\n
Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko is set to make his first Premier League start after injuries to Cunha and Mason Mount. He will face R\u00faben Dias, likely partnered by Nathan Ak\u00e9. Dias\u2019s composure and leadership are vital for a City defence that has looked exposed early in the season, and his handling of \u0160e\u0161ko will be key.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Four battles could settle the Manchester derby: Haaland v De Ligt Doku v Mazraoui, Fernandes v Rodri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,179,172],"tags":[317,342,272],"class_list":["post-2770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-manchester-united","category-epl","tag-benjamin-sesko","tag-bruno-fernandes","tag-erling-haaland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770","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=2770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}