Doku, Ake And Dias To Start | 4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Manchester United | OneFootball

Manchester City will entertain Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday evening as they hope to earn a positive result at home in the Premier League. The Mancunian giants suffered a 2-1 loss away at Brighton and Hove Albion before the international break. Hence, Man City would be eager to put in a much-improved showing in the Manchester derby this weekend.

Pep Guardiola will opt for the 4-3-3 formation once again and could make a few changes to his first XI for this game. Jeremy Doku, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are expected to play from the start of this Manchester derby.

4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester United

Defence

James Trafford will function in between the sticks for Man City after conceding two goals in his last league outing. Nathan Ake will operate alongside Ruben Dias at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they look to keep things solid on the defensive third of the pitch.

Matheus Nunes will fill in as the right-back once again, while Rayan Ait-Nouri looks to impress on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will get the freedom to go forward and express themselves inside the opponent’s half.

Manuel Akanji will provide cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 31: Erling Haland of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City at Amex Stadium on August 31, 2025 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Midfield

Tijjani Reijnders, Rodri and Bernardo Silva will make up Man City’s midfield. All three of them would need to move the ball well if they want to engineer some clear-cut chances in the final third.

Nico O’Reilly is a slight concern ahead of this game, but could be named on the bench. He might come on to influence the game in the second half if required.

Attack

Jeremy Doku will try to impress as the left-sided wide player, while Oscar Bobb looks to give a good account of himself on the right flank. Both of them will look to stretch the opposition defence at every chance they get.

Erling Haaland will spearhead Guardiola’s attack up top. He would be eager to find the back of the net in the Manchester derby after scoring goals for fun while on international duty with Norway during this international break.

Omar Marmoush will be sidelined for this game due to injury.