Haaland vs. Martínez, De Bruyne vs. McTominay or How can Manchester United keep Guardiola’s killers at bay?

On Sunday afternoon, Manchester City will clash with their city rivals United, in what will be the first Manchester derby for Erik ten Hag as well as several other new signings. But everyone is particularly curious to see how Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martínez will defend Erling Haaland.

Manchester United have hit the ground running after the embarrassing defeat to Brentford and have recorded 4 wins in a row, two of which came against Liverpool and until then 100 percent Arsenal. However, the death of Queen Elizabeth II meant the postponement of two games, namely against Crystal Palace and Leeds United.

Thus, the Red Devils will take to the pitch for a league match practically a month later and straight against the biggest favourite to win the current Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s charges haven’t known the bitterness of defeat since the beginning of the league season and literally in every match they are the team from which nothing but three points are expected after a few minutes of play.

Manchester City have been strong in recent years, but this season they have jumped up a level as they have gained a much needed final piece to the puzzle – a killer who will score goals regularly and draw a lot of attention to himself, giving a lot of freedom to others.

Haaland vs. Martínez

With Martínez, of course, defending the Norwegian striker who has already managed to score 11 goals in the current league campaign, Varane will have to make up for the height disparity in particular, and others will certainly help out.

Ten Hag, however, rightly pointed out that the Citizens are not just about one man. Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo and others will be waiting for their chance.

De Bruyne vs. McTominay

The strategy to take De Bruyne out of the game in particular will be very interesting to watch. In this case, we can count on Scott McTominay, who has earned a lot of trust in the Dutch coach in recent duels, to be given this task.

Moreover, the Scottish midfielder plays very hard and De Bruyne can be counted on to be hurt a lot in this 188th Manchester derby. Moreover, Casemiro is waiting for his chance in the midfield, and no one would be surprised if he jumps on the pitch right from the start. Generally, though, it’s not expected.

United’s lightning counter-attacks

Manchester United’s main strength on Sunday will of course be their speed, with Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and handy left-back Antony waiting for their chance all game.

This very quick trio can really make the most out of little and if the Citizens players give him just a little chance, they might soon wonder.

However, the home side will obviously be big favourites with odds of 1.33 on them to win and nothing but their continued dominance throughout the game can be expected. After all, we are talking about a team that has won 28 of their last 35 league games.

Source: Transfermarkt, Whoscored