Manchester United ‘Leaked’ Starting 11 to Take on Man City

Ruben Amorim’s lineup for his first-ever Manchester derby in charge of Manchester United has reportedly been leaked and sees a surprise inclusion for an England international. The 39-year-old famously beat Pep Guardiola’s side in one of his final games in charge at Sporting CP but faces an uphill battle in trying to secure United their first league win in three following losses to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

City boss Guardiola claimed he could make some drastic tactical changes ahead of Sunday’s clash, but it seems as though he isn’t the only one, as Amorim has turned to a much-maligned member of the Red Devils squad to help him secure what would be the biggest scalp of his Old Trafford tenure so far.

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Harry Maguire Set to Start in Manchester Derby

Mason Mount is also a surprise inclusion while Marcus Rashford is dropped

According to a social media post from Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, Amorim is set to hand former club captain Harry Maguire his first start since he took over from Erik ten Hag in November. The 31-year-old has been limited to substitute appearances since his new manager’s arrival, although he has also been recovering from a recent injury setback.

The Englishman will line up alongside Matthijs De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez, in front of number one goalkeeper Andre Onana despite his recent dip in form. This will move Noussair Mazraoui over to right wing-back, with Diogo Dalot continuing on the left-hand side.

Manuel Ugarte will return to the starting XI alongside captain Bruno Fernandes, who continues to be trusted as a deep-lying playmaker despite the fact that he has failed to impress as a number six in his two outings thus far.

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Amad Diallo keeps his place in the side and will remain one of the two number tens, having also impressed in the wing-back role. He will be joined by Mason Mount, who has continued to impress his new manager in training. Rasmus Hojlund will lead the line for the Red Devils, having come off the bench to bag a brace to help his side secure a 2-1 comeback victory over Viktoria Plzen on Thursday night.

There has been a real problem of late with United’s teams being released hours before kick-off, with Lukchurst even making light of this in his post, stating: “Teams have leaked out of United for years but the current regularity, brazen manner of it and apparently public identity of the source make it more of an issue.”

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – accurate as of 15/12/2024