Potential Manchester United XI vs Manchester City

After five wins in a row and a positional change that has seen Louis van Gaal’s men overtake their local rivals, this may be the easiest team prediction article I’ve ever written.

Fantastic performances against Tottenham, Liverpool and most recently Aston Villa have seen Manchester United move up to third place in the league, a point behind Arsenal in second place and a point ahead of Manuel Pellegrini’s side following their defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night.

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At the moment the red side of the city is totally out-performing the blue half, with David De Gea arguably the player of the season across the division – never mind Manchester. The Spaniard’s stock has continued to rise throughout the season and despite his error for Christian Benteke’s goal last weekend, De Gea is a certain starter over Victor Valdes.

Central defence is potentially the only question mark over the boss’ selection for the Manchester Derby. With all three senior defenders performing well, van Gaal will have to decide between Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and the returning Chris Smalling in the heart of his defence. Rojo has been an automatic starter whenever he’s been fit this season and I’d expect him to continue despite the partnership that was formed between his English counterparts during the games against Spurs and Liverpool.

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With that being said, Chris Smalling has outperformed Phil Jones this season. While Jones hasn’t disappointed on the many occasions he’s played, Smalling has been playing recently as if the penny has finally dropped and his positioning, pace and strength could prove handy when dealing with Manchester City’s attacking duo of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.

At right full-back, Antonio Valencia is sure to continue. The Ecuadorian has become a full-time right-back this season under Louis van Gaal, having started every game bar one in that position this season. Rafael’s appearance for the Under 21’s on Tuesday night confirmed he is fit to play but seemingly just out of favour, meaning Valencia will be tasked with keep David Silva quiet.

Left-back could be another problem area for van Gaal to select. Luke Shaw has been the automatic choice when fit this season but in his absence in recent weeks Daley Blind has turned in some of his best performances of the season from left-back, meaning he is now giving the youngster serious competition for that role. van Gaal confirmed last week that Shaw was back in training but the former Southampton man didn’t make the match-day squad which suggests he isn’t quite ready. While he didn’t feature for the Under 21’s this week either, you have to assume that Daley Blind will continue at left-back.

The midfield is a much simpler puzzle to solve. The trio of Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini have provided the team with the balance that Louis van Gaal has spent all season searching for and the results ever since have been positive.

With Fellaini and Herrera providing a goal threat from midfield that the Reds have lacked since Paul Scholes in his prime, United have found a new dimension to the team that is challenging now. Carrick has provided his calm head and experience throughout which has given the Reds a platform to build their attacks on and it’s worked to perfection. His partnership with Herrera when defending has been something to marvel at with both always looking for possession but also pressing and intercepting the opposition means United’s possession stats are at their highest for over ten years.

In attack, van Gaal may have a familiar decision to make. With Juan Mata and Ashley Young performing well in the wide positions, Angel Di Maria has been forced to watch from the sidelines in recent weeks. Despite that, the Argentine has two assists in his last two games including one for Wayne Rooney just minutes after coming on last weekend. van Gaal commented after the game saying that ‘his turn is coming’ but the boss must make the decision over whether to bring him back in for this crucial clash or stick with the winning formula.

Should he decide now is the right time, Ashley Young could be the man whose position is under threat. The England winger’s form has dropped in the last few weeks and while Juan Mata still provides a goal threat in his quieter games, Young’s offerings dramatically lessen when he’s not at the top of his game. Di Maria has proven in recent times that even when his form is poor and he’s not playing well, he always has a creative play in his locker and can help to create at all times.

In a game as tight as this, Di Maria’s skill and ability could see him come in over Young but don’t be surprised to see Louis van Gaal stick with Ashley Young simply for continuity.

Up front, Wayne Rooney has shown that he is the man at Manchester United. Since moving back up front United are unbeaten in the Premier League and he is scoring goals for fun. Radamel Falcao hasn’t shown enough in a Red shirt to warrant a start while Robin van Persie has only just returned to training and is expected to miss the game altogether.

Credit: sharemytactics.com

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