Erling Haaland broke out of his mini-slump, I guess you could call it. When you’re Haaland, and you can score at will, and you play for treble winning Man City, well, these are standards now. We’ll see if Erik ten Hag can contain him with Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane or whomever the Dutchman tries to throw at the best pure scorer on Earth.
Another interesting position battle to watch is Rodri, City’s best overall player, one could reasonably argue, versus Bruno Fernandes.
Manchester Derby FYIs
Kickoff: Oct 29, 4:30pm, Old Trafford
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Man City
Team News: Man United Man City
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Odds/Probability: United Win 4/1, 20% | City 8/13, 61.9% | Draw 3/1, 25%
Table Position: United 8th, 15 pts City 2nd, 21 pts
Premier League Form: Man United WWLWL Man City WLLWW
Honestly, it may just come down to who wins the battle in midfield here wins this match. City is heavily tipped to take all three points, and deservedly so, but this is a derby, so anything can happen.
Man City Starting XI Prediction for Manchester Derby
Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker; Rodri, Rico Lewisl Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland
Prediction: Man City 2, Man United 1
Not going out on a limb here. Just going with the safe choice.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.