Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview: Under-fire Ruben Amorim set for biggest test of the season so far

One of English football’s most iconic fixtures is set for another rendition on Sunday as Manchester City welcome Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium.

Both teams have underwhelmed so far, and a victory here could be the catalyst needed to spark a turnaround.

After kicking off their league journey with a convincing 4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Man City could not have asked for a better start to proceedings.

However, any notion that Pep Guardiola’s side are back to their usual standards has since been quelled by subsequent performances against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.

City suffered another defeat at the hands of Tottenham before throwing away a lead at Brighton for the second season running to lose 2-1.

With just three points on the board, City are already six shy of Liverpool and will be eager to avoid losing further ground on the reigning champions.

Man City’s only victory against this weekend’s opponents in the last four meetings came via a penalty shootout in the 2024 Community Shield final, after which they managed just one point from last season’s two clashes.

Despite the flurry of transfer activity at Old Trafford this summer, United have flattered to deceive and were made to work hard for their first win against Burnley.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty in second-half stoppage time secured a last-gasp victory for Ruben Amorim’s side, without which the Portuguese manager may have been the first managerial casualty of the season.

This came after defeats to Arsenal and Grimsby Town in league and cup, either side of a 1-1 stalemate against Fulham.

A win over City on Sunday would see United win consecutive Premier League games for the first time since Amorim’s appointment.

Keeping things tight at the back would be a good platform to build on for the visitors, who have conceded in each of their most recent eight outings.

Phil Foden, Savinho, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, and Abdukodir Khusanov are all in training for Man City , but there are question marks over their level of fitness for Sunday’s heavyweight meeting.

Meanwhile, Rayan Ait Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Mateo Kovacic and Omar Marmoush are guaranteed absentees.

Gianluigi Donnarumma is poised to make his first start for City since joining from Paris Saint-Germain, although James Trafford may fend off competition from the Italian for now.

Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount were both forced off with injuries last time out, and while the former is ruled out for United, the latter could play a part.

Long-term absentee Lisandro Martinez is closing in on a comeback, but this weekend’s trip is expected to come too soon.

Senne Lammens will have to wait for his United bow, with Altay Bayindir set to get the nod to feature in goal .

Manchester City Predicted XI (4-3-3) : Trafford; Gvardiol, Dias, Stones, Nunes; Reijnders, Rodri, Silva; Doku, Haaland, Bobb

Manchester United Predicted XI (3-4-3) : Bayindir; Shaw, De Ligt, Yoro; Dorgu, Mainoo, Casemiro, Amad; Fernandes, Sesko, Mbeumo