BREAKING: Nine (9) players are expected to be absent from the Manchester derby, which presents United and City with a selection challenge

In Sunday’s Premier League match, Manchester City will welcome Manchester United to their stadium.

The latest edition of the eagerly anticipated Manchester derby will take place this coming Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City will take on Manchester United in a football match that is extremely important to both clubs. United will be putting in their best effort to maintain their European playoff hopes, while City will be trying to maintain pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal, two of their fellow title contenders.

The two clubs will not be able to use a roster rotation because United’s injury list is much longer than its noisy neighbor’s. There were concerns that captain Bruno Fernandes might not be able to play on Sunday after being seen limping during Wednesday’s FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest. Nevertheless, Erik ten Hag has put fans’ minds at ease regarding the potential absence of the Portuguese midfielder. Furthermore, Raphael Varane, who was doubtful before the match against Forest, is supposedly going to play at the Etihad Stadium.

Red Devils forward Harry Maguire will not be in their starting lineup for this match because he is not expected to play after sitting out Wednesday’s game. When asked about Varane and Fernandes, Ten Hag said, “They fought to be part [of it], and they came well out of the game” in a statement he made on Thursday afternoon. On top of that, I think they’ll be available on Sunday as well. We will be utilizing the same roster from yesterday because, in my opinion, none of the players will be able to return for Sunday’s game.

This means that Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tyrell Malacia, Anthony Martial, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, and Luke Shaw are all out with injuries. Rasmus Hojlund is expected to make a full recovery from his muscle injury by the middle of March.

Because City is down to just two players due to injury, their problem is not as severe. It is highly unlikely that Jack Grealish will be considered fit for this upcoming weekend after being substituted out in the 38th minute of Wednesday’s FA Cup victory against Luton Town owing to an injury. It appears the England international’s groin injury, which has kept him out of action since the 2023–24 season, has returned.

Guardiola said, “I didn’t speak to the doctor yet, but I think he complained about the groin, so maybe quite similar,” in response to a question regarding the midfielder’s condition following Luton’s match. Despite feeling fantastic, he unfortunately picked up another injury right before the game started. His current season is not going well.

Center back Josko Gvardiol is another player whose derby participation is up in the air because he has missed five consecutive practice sessions. The Croatian defender has been dealing with a foot problem as of late, and it is unclear if the United match will be too soon for the 22-year-old. Guardiola added, “He’s good too,” earlier this week in response to a question regarding Gvardiol’s fitness. Regarding his participation in the match against Luton, I am uncertain. Without experiencing undue pain, he is training. Although he did not participate in our training sessions, he is planning to rejoin our squad soon. My first impression is that everyone is performing admirably during this afternoon’s training.

It is expected that the City manager will provide further updates on Grealish and Gvardiol during his pre-match press conference on Friday.