Manchester United vs Manchester City preview: De Bruyne misses out after suffering knock against Southampton

By Ric Turner, Tue 25 October 2016 13:05


Manchester United vs Manchester City preview: De Bruyne misses out after suffering knock against SouthamptonPep Guardiola expected to rotate squad for derby cup clash

Manchester United vs Manchester City

Competition: EFL Cup Fourth Round

Date: 8.00pm, Wednesday 26th October 2016

Venue: Old Trafford, Trafford

Referee: Mike Dean Assistants: S Long, I Hussin Fourth Official: L Mason

Odds: United 6/4, Draw 12/5, City 7/4. To find a bookmaker, visit GamblingSites.com.

Tickets: Sold out

TV: Sky Sports

Manchester United

Manager: Jose Mourinho

Squad (from): De Gea, Romero, Rojo, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Valencia, Darmian, Fosu-Mensah, Mata, Carrick, Young, Herrera, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Depay,, Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Martial, Rooney, Rashford, Ibrahimovic

Injured: Fellaini, Bailly, Wilson, Jones

Doubtful: Rooney

Suspended: None

Form guide: LWDDW

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Squad (from): Bravo, Caballero, Gunn, Adarabioyo, Angelino, Clichy, Kolarov, Kompany, Maffeo, Otamendi, Stones, Zabaleta, Fernando, Fernandinho, Garcia, Gundogan, Navas, Silva, Sane, Sterling, Aguero, Iheanacho, Nolito

Injured: Sagna, De Bruyne, Delph

Doubtful: Zabaleta

Suspended: None

Form guide: DLDLD

Kevin De Bruyne is unavailable for selection after suffering a knock during the 1-1 draw with Southampton on Sunday. The Belgian midfielder was withdrawn at half-time as a precuationary measure, and is a major doubt for Saturday's visit to The Hawthorns.

Pep Guardiola is expected to heavily rotate his starting line-up, with the likes of Willy Caballero, Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi, Gael Clichy, and Fernando all pushing for starts. The City manager, however, refused to downplay the significance of the game.

"It's always a big match against United," Guardiola said. "We have to see how the players recover and prepare for the game as best as possible and keep going."

City's last away game at Old Trafford was less than seven weeks ago, and ended in a 2-1 victory for City, with Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho netting for the Blues. Overall City have won 48 of the 161 games played against United, with 48 draws and 65 defeats.

Predicted line-up: Caballero, Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy, Fernando, Garcia, Gundogan, Nolito, Navas, Iheanacho

Score prediction: United 2 City 1