Red or Blue hot clash at Etihad Stadium as we look at the best predicted lineup and key details for Manchester City vs Manchester United clash for EPL 2022-23.
After almost a gap of a month, the excitement to enjoy a full game week is at its peak. And what better than to see a game between the two hottest clubs in Premier League history? Aguero’s title-winning goal against QPR in the 2011-12 season sets the pace of fierce competition among the fans of both clubs which is here to stay for a long time to come.
Manchester City are currently sitting at 2nd place, just 1 point behind the Gunners. If anyone would have asked at the end of last season if there were any players who can improve this City squad, then very few names would have qualified. Haaland was one of them, and he took Premier League by storm this season scoring 11 goals in just 7 matches. City have also strengthened their defence with a couple of very good signings in form of Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji.
Manchester United are already looking a better team since the arrival of Erik ten Hag. Arguably, Red Devils have the best summer signings among all PL teams. After losing the opening two fixtures, some tough decisions were taken by the new manager. Some of them involve managing the game time of Cristiano Ronaldo, and whether to start club captain Harry Maguire or not. 4 wins out of that many matches show that he has ticked most of the boxes correctly.
History
Manchester United with their rich history and dominance in the last century over their city neighbours have a better overall record. But if we look at the last 10 PL outings, they have done decently with 4 wins and 5 losses against the current champions. With Manchester City rising as a powerhouse in English football, this fixture has grabbed more eyeballs in the last decade than ever before.
Games Played: 187 // Manchester City won: 57 // Manchester United won: 77 // Draw: 53
The current Manchester United team is the best that we have in the last 3-4 years. This further makes this Manchester derby more special as it is difficult to predict the outright winner among both teams. So, as we wait for the match to begin, let’s look at the history, squad, and predicted starting 11 for the Manchester City vs Manchester United match of EPL 2022-23.
Match Details:
League Type: English Premier League (GW9)
Match Type: Manchester City vs Manchester United
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
When: October 2, 6.30 pm IST (1 pm GMT)
Squad Details:
Manchester City Squad:
Goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega Moreno, Ederson, Scott Carson
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Current Form (Recent first): W D W
Manchester United Squad:
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Tom Heaton
Defenders: Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Rafael Varane, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe
Midfielders: Bruno Fernandez, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek, Antony
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Martial, Anthony Elanga
Manager: Erik ten Hag
Current Form (Recent first): W W W
Predicting Starting 11 for both Teams
EPL 2022: Manchester City vs Manchester United Predicted lineup for ManC
Kyle Walker is back to full fitness, and has replaced his England and City teammate John Stones, who pulled his muscle in a 3-3 draw against Germany. As matches will come thick and fast in October, Pep Guardiola won’t risk Stones to start this game. Manuel Akanji, who already had a decent outing against Wolves should start in place of Stones. Ederson will start in front of the post with defensive duties assigned to Cancelo, Akanji, Dias, and Walker.
Choosing mid-field might be tricky with a lot of options available. After an ordinary outing against Dortmund, Grealish finally started to find his feet against Wolves, and didn’t take long to register his name on the scoresheet. Though Pep started with Ilkay Gundogan in absence of Grealish with later fully fit, we expect Grealish to start the proceedings.
De Bruyne, Rodri and Silva are sure starters in midfield. We also expect Phil Foden to start as he is getting more game time this season as compared to the previous one. Haaland who has already announced himself with a bang in PL, will surely look to make his first Manchester derby memorable.
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defence: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Joao Cancelo
Midfield: Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Phil Foden
Attack: Erling Haaland
Formation: 4-3-3
EPL 2022: Manchester City vs Manchester United Predicted Lineup for ManU
Erik ten Hag has finally found the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle of the Red Devils’ defense. His new defensive signings in form of Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia have come like a breath of fresh air in this United setup. We expect the almost same lineup to start the proceedings which won comprehensively against table-toppers Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford is gelling along well with the new manager, and is once again living up to his reputation which he made as a teenager in senior-level football. However, Cristiano Ronaldo could start the game in place of Rashford, if the latter doesn’t recover from the muscle injury.
Importantly, Man United won the last 4 games without starting Ronaldo, so manager Ten Hag may not be looking to change the winning combination. We expect Ronaldo to come as a substitute after the 1-hour mark. It looks like a marquee signing Casemiro still has to wait to start the game as Eric ten Hag may not like to tinker with winning combination.
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Defence: Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia
Midfield: Jadon Sancho, Antony, Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandez
Attack: Marcus Rashford
Formation: 4-2-3-1
EPL 2022: Manchester City vs Manchester United Fantasy 11
We are selecting De Gea over Ederson for goal-keeping duties because City is having comparatively better-attacking options than United. If we want to have 7 goal-scoring or assist-providing options from City then we have to sacrifice the goalkeeping position.
Anyway, we are expecting a few goals from both sides. This is the reason we are not giving too much importance to clean sheet options and playing with three defenders. Each of them is a great attacking threat as well and may earn some points with some assists or goals originating from a set piece.
We have chosen mid-fielders who are playmakers and will decide the course of the game. To have Bruno Fernandez and De Bruyne in a fantasy team is a must as both of them are seasoned and proven fantasy options. Phil Foden may prove handy with his pace.
Selecting an attacking line requires not much pondering as Haaland and Rashford both select themselves in the fantasy lineup with the kind of form they are in. With all said, let’s look at our chosen fantasy 11 for this match
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Raphael Varane, Kyle Walker
Midfielders Bruno Fernandez, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden
Forwards: Marcus Rashford, Erling Haaland
CVC Choice: Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford
Thanks for reading! Which among Manchester City vs United of EPL 2022 are you expecting to win? Please email your thoughts to footbalyticsofficial@gmail.com1
ALSO READ: Exclusive: EPL 2022 Best 11 Signings of the Season
Akshay is an author at Footbalytics. His love for football started way back in 1998 when Ronaldo (Not Cristiano) was his first football hero, and the list keeps getting longer ever since.
Though Akshay is a Teacher by profession, he firmly believes that there is no better classroom than the Sports field and no better Teacher than Sports.
