Herrera and Lingard start, 4-3-2-1: Predicted Man United XI to face Manchester City

Manchester United are at the Etihad Stadium this weekend for the cross-town derby against Manchester City. The Citizens require just a victory from their remaining seven matches to acquire the Premier League crown, and Jose Mourinho is likely to set United up with the view to avoiding a defeat, for a start.

Formation: 4-3-2-1

Lineup:

David de Gea attained his 16th clean sheet during the Premier League triumph over Swansea City, and this sees him in pole position for the Golden Glove accolade. The Spain international is certain to start between the sticks.

In defence, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young should retain their positions at right-back and left-back respectively, though we are anticipating a change at the heart of the defence. Chris Smalling has been Mourinho’s go-to man in central defence of late, and the Englishman should accompany Eric Bailly, who was benched during the 2-0 win over the Swansea.

With a three-man midfield, Mourinho may seek to drop Paul Pogba into the bench with his reduced impact in a defensive point of view. Nemanja Matic gets the usual nod in the centre of the park, and we are backing Scott McTominay and Ander Herrera to feature alongside him. Herrera has not been in the thick of things of late, but the Spaniard provides the tenacity in midfield which should be useful in restricting the impact of City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

Further forward, we are backing Alexis Sanchez to slot into one of the attacking midfield positions alongside Jesse Lingard, who has been a revelation for club and country this term. The Englishman has worked on his finishing over the course of the season, and he is a potent threat for the opposition especially on the counter attack.

Upfront, there are no doubts over Romelu Lukaku’s inclusion. The Belgian has worked immensely for the team irrespective of the results, and his link-up play has gradually improved through the campaign. Lukaku made defining impacts in the victories over Chelsea and Liverpool, and he will be hoping to increase on his 26-goal tally for the campaign.