Manchester City vs Manchester United preview: Grealish ruled out through injury

By Ric Turner, Fri 01 March 2024 16:51


Manchester City vs Manchester United preview: Grealish ruled out through injuryWinger suffered recurrence of groin injury in midweek win at Luton

Manchester City vs Manchester United

Competition: F.A. Premier League

Date: 3.30pm, Sunday 29th October 2023

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Andrew Madley Assistants: I Hussin, N Hopton Fourth Official: D England VAR: S Atwell

Odds: City 1/4, Draw 5/1, United 10/1

Tickets: Sold out

TV: Sky Sports

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Squad (from): Ederson, Ortega, Carson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Ake, Gvardiol, Akanji, Lewis, Kovacic, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Gomez, Nunes, Foden, Bobb, Haaland, Doku, Alvarez

Injured: Grealish

Doubtful: Gvardiol

Suspended: None

Form guide: WWWDW

Manchester United

Manager: Erik Ten Hag

Squad (from): Bayindir, Heaton, Onana, Lindelof, Varane, Dalot, Evans, Amrabat, Mount, Eriksen, Casemiro, Mainoo, McTominay, Rashford, Diallo, Garnacho, Antony

Injured: Martinez, Malacia, Shaw, Martial, Hojlund, Mount, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Form guide: WLWWW

Jack Grealish has been ruled out of the 181st Manchester derby after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury against Luton in midweek, and manager Pep Guardiola doesn't know when he will return.

“He will not be fit for this weekend. When he will come back I don’t know,” he said at Friday's press conference.

“He has to recover well. He has had a setback, he has to recover well so we can use him as much as possible.

“Setbacks in life are always there, it’s how you overcome them.”

The game will City's fifth in just over a fortnight, but Guardiola didn't complain about the scheduling as his players have had five days to prepare.

“Tuesday to Sunday is enough - it’s a dream,” he said. “We recovered well.

“The problem is Saturday to Tuesday with trips, there is less recovery time. The players were extraordinary against Luton.

“Two days off, rest, don’t see each other then two days to prepare for the game against United.”

City won the last derby at The Etihad 6-3, with hat-tricks for both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Overall City have won 58 of the 180 games played against the Reds, with 50 draws and 72 defeats.

Predicted line-up: Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Stones, Ake, Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden, Alvarez, Haaland

Score prediction: City 2 United 1