Manchester City make the short trip to Old Trafford this afternoon to take on fierce rivals Manchester United in the Premier League
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca will experience his first Manchester derby as Manchester City boss this afternoon
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Enzo Maresca will take charge of Manchester City for the first time in the derby this afternoon, as they visit Manchester United. City were resolute against Porto in midweek and while Maresca will be confident there are better things to come from his team, he can be nothing but pleased with four wins on the trot.
The derby represents a chance to extend that perfect start and land a huge blow on the Blues' City rivals. United have dropped five points already in their three league games and while they were convincing winners in the Champions League against Sabah in midweek, Sunday is a big game for Michael Carrick.
We ask our City writers for their thoughts on who should start for Maresca's men.
Simon Bajkowski
This is a really tricky one but for the positive reason that there are so many good options. Consider the fact that this fixture last season saw City play a back four of Lewis, Khusanov, Alleyne and Ake and City should be considerable stronger for this game.
Matheus Nunes was a big miss last season and I think I'd bring him back in for this one, and on the other side Nico O'Reilly could be fresh to come in at left-back after Josko Gvardiol was taken off early on Tuesday night.
Midfield is even more difficult to pick, but given United's pace on the counter I'd play both Bouaddi and Anderson - one to nick balls and the other to protect the back four and push City forward.
Ahead of them, Enzo Fernandez has to play. That means one of Foden or Cherki doesn't, and despite Foden's good record in the derby Cherki is in better form to be the one coming in from the right; that can allow Nunes to push on the outside too. The Semenyo-Haaland combination has worked for the last two league games and there is no reason to change it.
Alex James
There are going to be some big, important players disappointed when the team news drops on Sunday afternoon. City are only missing Jeremy Doku through injury and have real selection decisions to make, primarily at left back, in midfield and on one flank.
Donnarumma is a certain starter in goal and I would be tempted to keep the same back four that began in Porto. That means no place for Nico O'Reilly but he hasn't featured at left back yet this season and has only just recovered from a back injury. He'd be an excellent and versatile option from the bench.
Erling Haaland will obviously start up front and Antoine Semenyo may not have been at his best in midweek but has a knack for finding big goals and already has two Premier League assists so he can start out wide. Then it's a case of five into four. Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez could be the midfield three which would mean either Rayan Cherki or Phil Foden playing wide. The latter has an excellent derby record and although I'm loathe to leave Cherki out, he could be a huge weapon to bring into the contest as the game progresses.
Jack Flintham
No City fan will look back on the last trip to Old Trafford fondly, however Donnarumma did brilliantly in that game to hold back the tide for as long as he did. The Italian needs to channel that form today.
In defence, it seems likely that Nico O'Reilly will slot back in at left-back. Maresca confirmed on Friday that he is now '100 per cent available' for the Blues. The question is, who drops out? Josko Gvardiol seems the obvious answer, in a straight swap.
City are spoilt for choice in defence. Abdukodir Khusanov will be pushing to start but the remainder of the back four are likely to keep their spots for the derby.
Elliot Anderson made headlines in both camps ahead of the derby. He was wanted by City and United in the summer, before the Reds realised their pursuit of him was futile. He then stirred the pot further by crowning City as the 'Kings of Manchester', upon his Etihad Stadium arrival.
Anderson started on the bench in midweek, surely with this game in mind. We expect he will return to the starting line-up, alongside Ayyoub Bouaddi. The teenager shone on his first start for the Blues and, in the words of Erling Haaland, seems a 'gem' of an addition.
Maresca said in his press conference that Enzo Fernandez had become more of an attacking midfielder since working with him. That could be where he starts today, with Rayan Cherki on the right flank and Phil Foden on the left. That would mean no place for Antoine Semenyo nor Iliman Ndiaye, but those are two great options off the bench. Leading the line will be Erling Haaland. His rest will have to wait until the Norwich game on Thursday.
Manchester City's predicted line-up to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford
Manchester City's predicted line-up to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford
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