(Football news) Manchester United will face their local rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The Red Devils’ new manager Erik ten Hag will be keen to get his team selection right, as this fixture is more than just the three points for the league table. While City are favourites and rightly so, Manchester United have won their last four matches in the Premier League but haven’t played a competitive fixture in almost a month due to the Queen’s passing followed by the international break. 

While Ten Hag clearly has a preferred starting XI, it might make sense to make a few changes against an opponent of City’s calibre. The long break means that momentum is not on their side anymore and Pep Guardiola’s team will be especially dominant in midfield, which means Ten Hag might consider featuring Casemiro in the starting XI. The Brazilian has tons of experience, especially in high stakes fixtures and will provide the defensive stability to Varane and Martinez. This could be a very important factor as City is expected to dominate midfield, keep possession and force Manchester United to be on the backfoot. As a result, Ten Hag could opt for featuring both McTominay and Casemiro at the expense of either Eriksen or Bruno Fernandes.

The other option would be to drop McTominay entirely, which would be a harsh call as the Scotsman has been in tremendous form of late, so good that Ten Hag has been justified dropping a player like Casemiro. Ten Hag’s tactics will need to be focused on stopping City rather than outplaying them and getting the goals from a counter, similar to what they did against Liverpool. With Erling Haaland looking lethal combined with Bruno Fernandes’ tendency to give the ball away more often than not, the existing midfield trio for Manchester United could be a recipe for disaster. 

While Anthony Martial has been training with the squad this week, picking Cristiano Ronaldo over the Frenchman could possibly be the better move. Admittedly, Martial’s link up play is superior to Ronaldo, however in a game like this, being clinical in front of goal could completely change the dynamics of the match. City will not give away too many chances to Manchester United and a player of Ronaldo’s quality will always be a threat, not just from open play but also set pieces. Ronaldo also has a winning mentality and the experience of competing in the biggest games, qualities that will be very important on the pitch, especially if Manchester United concede a goal and need a comeback. 

Ten Hag’s best chance of getting a result from this fixture will be to get the early goal and set his side up to defend. Manchester United have a stable backline of Dalot, Varane, Martinez and Malacia and they could possibly keep a clean sheet against the Premier League champions. Getting a result against City could be a major statement of intent by Manchester United, as it’s already clear to see that they are making slow but steady progress in their pursuit back to the top. The Red Devils have already turned up against Liverpool and Arsenal to get the three points and a win against City could set the tone for the rest of their season.

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