It’s nearly here, the single most eagerly anticipated Manchester derby for years as Jose Mourinho’s Man United play host to Pep Guardiola and his Man City side as the pair revive their rivalry which began at the respective helms of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Both sides have made a flying start to life under the guise of their new managers, with both Manchester clubs sitting in the top three in the Premier League with three wins from three.
The Red Devils got their season off to a strong start with a 3-1 at Bournemouth, followed by a home win to Claude Puel’s Southampton and a trademark last gasp victory over Hull City, courtesy of Marcus Rashford.
Despite the confidence that will no doubt be flowing through the dressing room at Old Trafford, the former Chelsea manager and his men will need to be wary of their neighbours, who have also started their campaign in scarily impressive form.
Rashford’s goal at the KCOM Stadium before the international break saved Mourinho from what would have been a worrying result, so, what does the Portuguese boss need to change ahead of the visit of the league leaders?
Here are THREE players that have to be dropped by the new manager at Old Trafford…
Anthony Martial
Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.
The French international was far from impressive against Mike Phelan’s Hull City side. The hosts were setup incredibly defensively, which was to be expected and Martial, amongst others, failed to take the initiative and come up with a bit of creative spark to break them down.
His replacement? Easy, the man who came on to make the difference last time out. Marcus Rashford did what United’s no.11 couldn’t do before him, and he did it quickly. The England international deserves more time on the pitch to show Mourinho exactly what he’s made of, and could make the difference once again against Man City.
Marouane Fellaini
Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.
It’s a bit of a surprise that the big Belgian has stayed at Old Trafford since the arrival of Jose Mourinho over the summer. It is even more of a surprise just how involved the former Everton man has been so far this season, but that needs to change.
The 28-year-old has no real place in a Man United side that is searching to get back to the top again, he does have his talents, but he can be easily found out against top opposition, which Man City undoubtedly are.
Juan Mata
Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.
The Spaniard is having a tough time in Manchester after they appointed his former Chelsea boss, and was strongly linked with a move away during the summer window.
The 28-year-old has a point to prove, and against Hull he was far from proving it. Like Martial the attacking midfielder lacked the creativity to breakdown the Tigers and create chances for those ahead of him, and a defence with the likes of John Stones in will be a lot harder to get through, it could be time to hand Henrikh Mkhitaryan his Premier League debut.