Premier League Team news and prediction: Man City vs Man Utd
Manchester City will be looking to extend their 14-point lead at the top of the table and hammer Manchester United's hopes of finishing second.
There is no question at this stage City are on course to reclaim their league crown, their third in the last four years.
As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in his pre-match press conference on Friday, something will have to give on Sunday.
City have won 21 games in a row in all competitions and United are unbeaten in their last 21 away league matches, a run that spans more than 12 months.
Ahead of the latest Manchester derby, we have all your need-to-know match information in one place, including team news, probable XIs and when and where the game takes place.
When is kick off?
Sunday 7th March, 16:30 GMT
Where is the match?
Etihad, Manchester
Where can I watch it?
Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League
Form Guide
Manchester City's current 15-game winning streak in the league is by far and away the best of its kind all season in any of Europe's top five leagues. In fact, Inter and Atletico come the closest with an eight-game winning run earlier in the season. There is simply no team that comes close to matching Pep Guardiola's side at the moment.
Manchester United have drawn their last three games by 0-0 scorelines. They have lost their goalscoring touch at the worst possible moment against a City side that are simply not leaking goals as they were earlier in the season. United trail City by 18 points based on the Premier League table in 2021, as they have drawn more games (6) than they have won (5)
Team News
Manchester City have a full squad to pick from on Sunday with Nathan Ake back from injury. John Stones is expected to rotate back into the side at Aymeric Laporte's expense, while Kyle Walker and Oleksandar Zinchenko are in competition for a spot in defence. Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden were given rests in midweek and will hope to come back into the reckoning here. It wouldn't be a surprise if Pep Guardiola went without a recognised striker again here.
Dean Henderson is finally getting his big break at Manchester United, with David de Gea back in Spain for the birth of his child. Paul Pogba remains sidelined and fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial is a doubt with a knee injury, however, the frontman has made the squad. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must now decide whether Martial or Mason Greenwood leads the attack with Edinson Cavani sidelined. Daniel James and Victor Lindelof will both likely come back into the side from the one that started Wednesday's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Probable XIs:
Man City (433): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Silva, Sterling, Foden
Man Utd (4231): Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; James, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial
Key Battle: John Stones vs Harry Maguire
We could be looking at England's centre-back pairing at Euro 2020 when the two sides met at the Etihad on Sunday. Stones was well out of the England picture at the start of the season and even as recently as November, but has since enjoyed a remarkable return to form. Alongside Ruben Dias, Stones has helped turn City's defence into one of the best in Europe. City have kept 12 clean sheets in the 16 matches Stones has started this season.
Harry Maguire has come a long way from his nightmare start to the season. He battled through the tough times when many called for him to be given a break and has even been a key player for United in attack of late, driving forward from deep to help faciliate United's attack from the left hand side. Maguire won't get to use too much of his aerial dominance against City so it's important he is at his best with the ball pinging around him quickly. Often criticised as being slow, Maguire is actually very good at anticipating danger and stepping in before it can develop. Only Jan Bednarek (54) has made more interceptions than Maguire (46) of all centre-backs in the Premier League this season.
Scoreline Prediction: Man City 2-0 Man Utd
