Key events
Jonathan Wilson on Erling Haaland
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team news
Pep Guardiola makes three changes from City's last league game, a 1-0 win at Bournbemouth eight days ago: Kyle Walkerkevin de bruyne and Jeremy Doku They replace Manuel Akanji, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes.
Erik ten Hag has made two changes following the league defeat at home to Fulham. Johnny Evans comes in for the injured Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay replaces Omari Forson. That means some kind of tactical change: whether it's a diamond in midfield or Bruno Fernandes playing on the wing.
Manchester City (possible 4-2-1-3) Ederson; Walker, Piedras, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Bernardo; DeBruyne; Foden, Haaland, Doku.
Substitutes: Ortega, Gvardiol, Akanji, Lewis, Kovacic, Gómez, Nunes, Bobb, Álvarez.
Manchester United (possible 4-1-4-1) Onana; Dalot, Varane, Evans, Lindelof; Casemiro; Fernández, McTominay, Mainoo, Garnacho; Rashford.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Kambwala, Ogunneye, Amrabat, Eriksen, Forson, Collyer, Diallo, Antony.
Referee Andy Madley.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium. On paper, this is a delightful prospect. City are on a streak of 14 wins in 15 games; United have won their last six away games. In reality, few sane people offer a prayer to United. Last season they lost 6-3 to City and were flattered, very flattered, by the scoreline. The days of winning regularly at the Etihad are long gone; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is no longer the coach.
The only metric (baby!) in which United surpass City is, sadly, the number of injuries. They are without at least three and possibly six of the team Erik ten Hag would like to play for today, which makes things look even bleaker on the meter.
All logic points to a City victory, possibly a huge victory. But football doesn't always follow logic, so this could be the best game you'll ever see in your entire life. Better keep refreshing the page just in case.
Kick off 3:30 p.m.
