Man City vs Man Utd Preview | Latest Team News | Expected Line-Ups | Prediction

Manchester City will be looking to cement their position at the top of the table with a positive result when they take on Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

City warmed up for the game with an impressive 6-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League group stages on Wednesday night that’s put them within touching distance of the knockout stages but the focus will be firmly on Premier League matters tomorrow.

Tottenham’s win at Crystal Palace today means they have moved level on points with Chelsea and Liverpool with the trio all just two points behind City in the table. Chelsea and Liverpool both play before City on Sunday so Pep Guardiola’s men could find themselves down in third come kick-off so the pressure will be on to respond.

However, they’ll be up against a resurgent Manchester United side that will be in confident mood following their stunning victory over Juventus in Turin on Wednesday night that saw them score two late goals to clinch a vital win.

Jose Mourinho’s side sit eighth in the Premier League table but they can close the gap on the top four to four points with a repeat of last years thrilling 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Team news

City will obviously be without Kevin de Bruyne as he’s been ruled out for several weeks with a knee ligament injury while Claudio Bravo is also on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.

Ilkay Gundogan is a major doubt with a hamstring injury so Bernardo is expected to continue in midfield alongside Fernandinho and David Silva.

United will hand a late fitness test to Paul Pogba after he picked up a minor knock ahead of the game but Romelu Lukaku is expected to return after recovering from a hamstring injury that’s kept him out of the last two games.

Antonio Valencia could return to the squad after overcoming a muscle injury but Diogo Dalot remains out with an injury he sustained during the last international break.

Expected Line-Ups

Predicted Score

Man City 2-1 Man Utd: United have lost just two of their last eight matches against City and won 3-2 at the Etihad last season after coming from 2-0 down but the Citizens are the red-hot favourites to win tomorrow. Mourinho’s side have been grinding out results and I do think they’ll make a good game of it but City should prove to be too strong in the end. I’m going for a 2-1 home win.