Manchester City host rivals Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday with a potentially weakened team from the one Pep Guardiola would have wanted to choose.
City lost 2-1 to Brighton last time out, with Rayan Cherki already missing, and fellow attacker Omar Marmoush sustaining an injury during the international break that followed.
City now have as many as 10 players with injuries, and while some are expected to return to the fold for the weekend, Guardiola won’t want to rush anyone back, risking more problems.
Amid the injury crisis, we have looked into the side City could pick to face United.
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma
A new signing since City’s last game, Donnarumma joins off the back of winning last season’s Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain.
Reports expect the Italian to start, and it would be a shock to see him not usurp James Trafford, who has conceded four goals in the last two games and hasn’t looked as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Guardiola might like.
RB: Rico Lewis
Lewis and Matheus Nunes have split responsibilities this season, with the former playing 161 minutes to the latter’s nine.
There is probably not much in it, but with little resource in midfield given Ilkay Gundogan’s exit and Mateo Kovacic’s injury, Nunes might be saved as a potential reinforcement in the engine room later on in the game.
CB: John Stones
Stones played the full 90 minutes against Brighton, but was then sent home from England’s camp given he had a muscle issue.
There’s a chance, then, that he won’t start against United, but it’s expected he’ll be fit again.
Given Josko Gvardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov also have problems, which mean they may or may not be available, Stones or Nathan Ake could be the best choices.
CB: Ruben Dias
Dias has played 185 minutes this season and is one of the only City central defensive options to have not picked up a knock this season.
As such, expect him to line up at the heart of the defence against United.
LB: Rayan Ait-Nouri
Ait-Nouri has started all three games since he has been a City player, and with fellow left-back Gvardiol’s fitness unclear, it’s likely he’ll make it four from four.
CM: Bernardo Silva
Guardiola isn’t blessed with masses of options in midfield, but it seems a certainty that Silva will be in it.
He has started two of the three games so far, but given Cherki, who replaced him in one, is now injured, Silva seems likely to return.
CM: Rodri
Rodri’s remarkable impact at City was missed much of last season when he was sidelined with a knee injury.
But he made his first start of the season against Brighton, playing the full 90 minutes, so it’s likely he keeps his place from the start as City face their rivals.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders
Reijnders has played every minute available to him at City so far, and Guardiola has been known for random rotation of players in the past.
That said, with few other options in midfield, and the summer signing having performed well so far, it’s likely he’ll retain his place and start his first Manchester derby.
RW: Oscar Bobb
Bobb has done little wrong to justify being removed from his place on the right flank. He assisted in the first game of the season – one of three starts in as many games.
With no Marmoush or Cherki, potentially returning Savinho seems the only logical option to usurp the Norwegian, but it’s probably too soon for him to be given what would be his first minutes of the season if he was to start, with a role from the bench more likely.
LW: Jeremy Doku
There are other options on the left wing than Doku, with Savinho and Phil Foden potentially returning from injury.
But given the last started on the left wing – Marmoush – has been sidelined, Guardiola surely won’t want to risk losing another star who could play there.
As sure, Doku – who started the 4-0 Premier League opener against Wolves – seems the most likely starter, potentially to be replaced later in the game.
ST: Erling Haaland
Haaland’s inclusion is surely the most obvious of any player in the City side. He has scored three league goals already this season, and with no Marmoush available, there’s no other striker option.
City will need Haaland’s power up top and it seems clear he’ll play from the start.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? The 5 players Man City signed in the summer of 2015
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every Dutch player to appear for Man City in the Premier League?