After salvaging a last-minute point against Chelsea recently, Louis Van Gaal will be hoping his side can go one better to secure a win against their Manchester rivals – who are currently in a patch of inconsistent form.

The Reds will be boosted by the availability of Wayne Rooney; who, after serving his three-match suspension, looks to have overcome an injury scare earlier in the week. Michael Carrick could also start, after watching from the bench against both West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea, having gained match fitness in a development squad match.

However, Phil Jones is doubtful with shin splints; meaning Jonny Evans could be called upon, should he be fit in time. Antonio Valencia and Radamel Falcao could both also return in time to feature in the 168th Manchester derby.

Both Manuel Pellegrini and Louis Van Gaal are nominees for the FIFA’s Coach of the Year award, and things could turn personal on the touchline as the Citizens hope to overturn their recent humiliating defeats at the hands of West Ham United and Newcastle United. Pellegrini could start to feel the pressure on his reign for the first time since taking over, and has expressed his anxiety at the fixture.

Speaking of a lack of confidence and trust within the team, Pellegrini said:

"We must address this as soon as possible. We will try to react as soon as we can.

"My feeling is that we are not playing well. We are in a difficult moment with a lack of trust.

"We are conceding too (many) easy goals and we are not scoring the chances we have to score.

"Of course we must be worried - we didn't win the three games we played this week. We must be worried about that but we must find a solution and we must address it.

"We will see with the players which is the way to try and recover that confidence because it's not normal to see this team playing the way we are now.”

He will be without Frank Lampard, who has been ruled out with a thigh injury, while influential midfielders David Silva and Samir Nasri’s could be substantial losses for City. Currently sitting in third place, Manchester City will host the Red Devils as they hope to close the gap to a single point.

Defender Luke Shaw has declared the importance of the fixture, and is raring to go in his first Manchester derby, saying:

"We know what we need to do, so we just need to focus on that during this week and come out firing on Sunday. The whole world watches the derby - it's one of the biggest occasions in football after the World Cup and Champions League finals. I'm sure everyone will be watching and we're looking forward to it."

The two teams will take to the field on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, with a 13:30pm kick-off time.

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About the author
Kane Brooker
Kane is an 18-year-old Sports Journalist who predominantly covers Manchester United FC while having a heavy involvement in the Boxing office. Having joined the VAVEL team back in October 2014, he has previously featured for Sky Sports News while writing regularly for The Non-League Paper. Kane is also the club reporter, programme editor and press and communications officer for Walton Casuals Football Club.