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Manchester City logo
Premier League | Gameweek 12
Nov 11, 2018 at 4.30pm UK
 
Manchester United logo

3-1

Silva (12'), Aguero (48'), Gundogan (86')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Martial (58' pen.)

Combined XI: Manchester City vs. Manchester United

Ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, Sports Mole selects its strongest combined XI from the squads of Man City and Man Utd.

One of the most eagerly-anticipated matches of the season will take place on Sunday afternoon when champions and leaders Manchester City welcome near neighbours Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium.

City are still unbeaten after 11 games of the campaign and go into this match in blistering goalscoring form, having racked up six-goal hauls in each of their last two outings.

United have endured a much more tumultuous campaign than their local rivals, but did pull off a famous victory away to Juventus in midweek and will be hoping for a similarly sizeable shock on Sunday.

Here, Sports Mole selects its combined XI from both squads, using only players available this weekend.



Combined XI: MNC vs. MNU

Plenty of Manchester United players have flattered to deceive so far this season, but if it was not for David de Gea then their plight over the last few years could have been significantly worse. The Spaniard has kept only one clean sheet in the Premier League this season but is still regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers and edges out Ederson for a place in this team.

A large reason behind United having shipped a whopping 18 goals - more than any other team outside the bottom six - is because of those in front of De Gea, so it is an easy choice to select an all-Man City defence. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones have established themselves as Pep Guardiola's preferred centre-back partnership, and in truth Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany would also be above the first United defender in the pecking order.

Ashley Young has once again proved to be an adequate stand-in during Antonio Valencia's recent absence, but there is still no competition for right-back against Kyle Walker, while on the opposite flank Benjamin Mendy is also an easy inclusion despite the revival of Luke Shaw this season.

It is an all-City midfield too, with both Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic struggling to find their best form on a consistent basis this season. There are no such problems for David Silva, who is enjoying arguably the best form of his illustrious City career, or Bernardo Silva, who has well and truly established himself in the first team during the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. Fernandinho provides the crucial base for all of the devastating attacks that go on in front of him.

City could quite feasibly provide the full front three too; Riyad Mahrez has been in fine form since his arrival in the summer and Leroy Sane is beginning to hit his stride after a slow start to the campaign. Neither are automatic choices in the City starting XI, though - largely due to the good form of the other - whereas Anthony Martial will be one of Jose Mourinho's first names on the teamsheet following a run of five goals in his last four league games.

Doubts remain over the fitness of Romelu Lukaku for Sunday's match, but even so the main competition for Sergio Aguero probably comes from Gabriel Jesus, who staked his claim for a starting role by scoring a hat-trick in midweek. Aguero is the Premier League's joint-top scorer, though, and has directly contributed to 11 goals in as many league games this season.

Arguably the division's standout player so far this term has been Raheem Sterling, who already has six goals and five assists to his name in the Premier League. The England international comes into this match in stunning form and is perhaps the easiest selection of them all to make this combined XI.

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Raheem Sterling celebrates with Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva after opening the scoring for Manchester City against Brighton & Hove Albion on September 29, 2018
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal35255585285780
2Manchester CityMan City34247382325079
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs33186967521560
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle341651374551953
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
9Chelsea33139116359448
10Bournemouth35139135260-848
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves35137154855-746
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
13Fulham35127165155-443
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton35128153748-1136
16Brentford3598185260-835
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3579194262-2026
18Luton TownLuton3567224877-2925
19Burnley3559213870-3224
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3537253497-6316


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