An absolutely massive Manchester derby takes center stage on Sunday as Manchester City host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
WATCH — Manchester City vs Manchester United
City have lost two in a row and Pep Guardiola’s side were ahead and cruising at Brighton before the international break, then imploded in the final 30 minutes to lose 2-1. City have looked exceptionally vulnerable defensively to counter attacks and everything looks clunky, which should be expected given how many changes they’ve made over the summer and so many new players still settling in to Guardiola’s very specific style of play. Add to all of that a huge list of injury issues and City are heading into this derby with plenty of trepidation.
United won late on against Burnley before the international break to ease some of the pressure on Ruben Amorim. For now. A 97th-minute penalty kick from Bruno Fernandes sealed the 3-2 win at Old Trafford but the recent embarrassing League Cup exit at fourth-tier Grimsby Town won’t be forgotten about anytime soon. United have looked solid in their opening three games of the Premier League season and four points is a decent return. Amorim now needs a marquee display, and win, to really prove United are heading in the right direction.
For live updates and highlights throughout Manchester City vs Manchester United, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Manchester City vs Manchester United live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30am ET Sunday (September 14)
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming:Stream live on Peacock
Manchester City team news, focus
This huge list of injuries is obviously a problem and two key creative sparks in Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki are now out. Phil Foden, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol are all struggling with injuries too and City need their experience. Defensively Guardiola has to find some kind of solid foundation to build from as City have looked all over the place positionally. Erling Haaland had a superb international break as he scored five goals against Moldova and the winner against Finland as Norway are on the brink of World Cup qualification. New goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could come straight in to make his debut after his arrival from PSG.
OUT: Omar Marmoush (knee), Rayan Cherki (thigh), Kalvin Phillips (achilles), Marcus Bettinelli (knock) | QUESTIONABLE: Mateo Kovacic (calf), Josko Gvardiol (knock), Savinho (undisclosed), John Stones (undisclosed), Phil Foden (ankle), Abdukodir Khusanov (knock)
Manchester United team news, focus
There are a couple of injury concerns for Amorim to contend with, the main one being Matheus Cunha. The new star signing went down against Burnley before the break and is out with a muscular issue, while Diogo Dalot is also injured. That means Amad Diallo should start at right wing-back with Patrick Dorgu at left wing-back. In attack Mason Mount could start as a false nine with Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo buzzing around up there too. Is it too early for Benjamin Sesko to start up top? With Cunha out, Amorim may need to chuck the Slovenian striker in to start in the derby despite his slow start to life as a Red Devil. It will be intriguing to see if new goalkeeper Senne Lemmens is thrown straight in or Altay Bayindir continues in goal.
OUT: Diogo Dalot (muscular), Matheus Cunha (muscular), Lisandro Martinez (knee), Noussair Mazraoui (hamstring)
Manchester City vs Manchester United prediction
These games are always so hard to call and United have won a fair few times at City with smash-and-grab displays in recent years. Given City’s lack of confidence and injuries, it feels like a United win on the counter is going to happen again. Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United.