Manchester United:

This is more of the 4-3-3 Louis van Gaal plays given Mata and now Di Maria play the role of false right and left wingers. This was highly evident during the Liverpool game on Juan Mata's first goal as his run past Alberto Moreno was much more towards the inside than a natural winger should be. Di Maria should return to the starting lineup after being dropped due to a poor run of form, but his pace and better crossing and shooting abilities make him more of a threat than Ashley Young especially since he'll be attacking Gael Clichy or Pablo Zabaleta. Chris Smalling should also make his way back into the starting XI after missing out on last week's win against Aston Villa due to an illness. Smalling received a red card in the last derby in which Manchester United were narrowly defeated 1-0 at the Etihad.

Possible Formation:

4-2-3-1: If City are to attack up the middle early with their pacey defensive midfielders (Yaya Toure and Fernando) as well as Sergio Aguero, Manchester United are going to need to drop another man in the holding midfielder role to help out Michael Carrick. Only this time around should Marouane Fellaini drop because of his strength. He may not be as strong as Yaya Toure but could certainly hold his own and his physical presence should very much be a nusance to Sergio Aguero.

Manchester United Key Stats:

10: Despite the poor season, Angel Di Maria has found himself assisting a Manchester United goal ten times this season. This has shown us the quality that Di Maria possesses and should hopefully find his form like he once had at Real Madrid. Ten is also the number of clean sheets David de Gea has this season.

11: The number of goals Wayne Rooney has tallied in his career against Manchester City.

09/12/12: The last time Manchester United beat Manchester City was back in December of 2012. United squandered a 2-0 lead, but newly signed Robin van Persie delivered a stoppage time free kick goal to etch his name into the Manchester Derby folklore.



Manchester City:

In this formation, Yaya Toure is going to be the defensive midfielder more likely to attack which puts him a little further up the pitch than Fernando. Fernandinho has also been declared fit for this one so don't be surprised if he gets called into action rather than Fernando. With Bony out, it's highly unlikely that Manuel Pellegrini calls into action a second striker for the starting XI and would be better off having Dzeko come on late if needed. David Silva is going to slide back into his favourite role, the number ten role, with James Milner taking over the left wing duties.

Possible Formation:

4-1-4-1: Lately, Manchester United have been having phenomenal buildup play up the middle to get the ball out wide on the attack. This is why a 4-1-4-1 formation could make sense for Pellegrini's players should United's pace trouble Clichy and Zabaleta. Yaya Toure would slide next to David Silva forcing Milner and Navas out wide more to help Clichy and Zabaleta protect against Di Maria and Juan Mata.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.