With both teams having a perfect record in the Premier League so far, there’s no better time for these 2 heavyweights to clash than this Saturday at Old Trafford.
Many have predicted this match to be the ‘match of the season’ and given the quality of the players and, of course, the managers, they might just be right!
[divider]Clash of the Titans![/divider]
Both teams have undergone major changes, notably bringing in new managers, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, who are arguably the best managers in the world at the moment. These 2 titans go a long way back, when Pep was a player and Jose was a coach. Also when they went head-to-head as managers for the first time in the Champions League with Pep managing Barcelona and Jose managing Inter.
However, the ‘rivalry’ first began when Jose started managing Real Madrid. Yep, the El Classico! Now, the 2 are managing rival clubs once again!
[divider]The Set-Up[/divider]
With both of them fully aware of each other’s playing styles, you can expect City to have a larger share of possession while United will be happy to contain Pep’s fluid passing. Therefore, United would most probably play physically superior players to make up ground for City’s quick passing while City on the other hand would field the technically gifted ones to, of course, pass the ball.
However, with United suffering from a couple of injuries and City suffering from player retrenchment-disorder, it would be interesting to see who would be filling the gaps of the missing players!
[divider]Predicted line-up…and score[/divider]
Nevertheless, it’s always nice to predict stuff, not bet… partially ’cause I have no luck in the latter (I definitely don’t have the money either).
Manchester United starting XI:
De Gea-Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Rojo-Pogba, Fellaini, Mata, Martial, Rooney-Ibrahimovich
Manchester City starting XI:
Caballero-Zabaleta, Otamendi, Stones, Clichy-David Silva, Fernandinho-De Bruyne, Sterling, Navas-Nolito
I honestly can’t seem to separate these 2 sides but, I’m expecting goals given the strength of attack both teams have even with the absence of Aguero and Mkhitaryan. So… 2-2, I say!