Man United travel to their Manchester rivals Man City on Sunday looking to put a dent in their Premier League title hopes.
Pep Guardiola’s side are looking to move back to within one point of league leaders Liverpool with a win over United ahead of the two Premier League giants facing off next week at Anfield.
Man City come into the Manchester derby in great form and were 6-2 winners over Luton Town in the FA Cup midweek. Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne showed big signs of being back to their best and that will be a worry for Erik ten Hag.
Man City team
Guardiola has made five changes from the win at Kenilworth Road with Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Phil Foden, Doku coming in for Ortega, Akanji, Kovacic, Nunes and Jack Grealish.
Julian Alvarez remains on the bench, which may be a surprise for some.
In the blue corner for #MCIMUN! ??
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Doku, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Kovacic, Alvarez, Gomez, Gvardiol, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/9HBTctqtXJ
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 3, 2024
As for Man United, this season has been a tough one for the Red Devils as they currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, 11 points off Aston Villa who are in the final Champions League spot.
A defeat on Sunday would certainly end any hopes they may have had of finishing fourth leaving Ten Hag’s men with just the FA Cup to compete for between now and the end of the season.
Man United were also in FA Cup action midweek, seeing off Nottingham Forest with a 1-0.
Man United team
Ten Hag has made two changes from that win at Forest with Sofyan Amrabat and Antony being replaced by Jonny Evans and Kobbie Mainoo.
Man United fans will not be confident of Evans having to deal with Haaland but will be glad to see Mainoo back in the side as the youngster has been one of the positives from this season.
Starting in the red corner! ?#MUFC || #MCIMUN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 3, 2024