Fernandinho and Riyad Mahrez are restored to City’s starting line-up as Pep Guardiola makes two changes for the Carabao Cup semi-final against United.
The Brazilian returns in place of Rodrigo, who drops to the bench, whilst Mahrez replaces the suspended Bernardo Silva.
Guardiola has largely kept faith with the team that started in the brilliant 3-1 win at Chelsea on Sunday, though City are boosted by the return of Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker, who are amongst the substitutes after their periods of self-isolation ended.
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SQUAD NOTES
The key question before kick-off is, who will lead the line up front for City?
Kevin De Bruyne did a fine job at Stamford Bridge three days ago, but Mahrez's inclusion suggests the responsibility could well fall to Raheem Sterling, with the Belgian midfielder reverting to his usual position as City's most advanced midfielder.
Of course, Phil Foden could also adopt the midfield role, allowing De Bruyne to remain in attack, so as always, we'll have to wait until we get under way to see how Guardiola has lined his team up.
When and where
City make the short trip to Old Trafford on Wednesday 6 January, with kick-off at 19:45 (UK).
In the UK, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports, whilst fans living abroad should check out our global TV listings at the foot of this page to find out how they can tune in wherever they are in the world.
If you’re unable to watch the game, you can get minute by minute coverage in our Matchday Centre here on mancity.com and we’ll also have live updates on Twitter: @ManCity.
A full-match replay will be available to watch on CITY+ from midnight after the game.
Shaun Goater and Joleon Lescott are the guests on our live matchday show for this game.
They’ll be joined in the studio at the Etihad Stadium by presenter Natalie Pike and will be providing their expert analysis before kick-off, at half-time and after the full-time whistle.
We’re Not Really Here provides a City-centric view to your match coverage and is available to watch in the Matchday Centre on mancity.com and all our other digital platforms.
Pep Guardiola preview
“If you want to compete in all competitions you need a full squad, but we have a second team (EDS) that have been training with us for a month.
“We know them quite well and I am pretty sure they can help us. They can help us to solve the problems but with this amount of games with 15 players it will be more difficult.”
This year’s Carabao Cup semi-finals are being played over one leg rather than the usual two in order to ease fixture congestion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the scores are level after 90-minutes then 30-minutes of extra-time will be played and if the two teams can still not be separated, the game will be decided via a penalty shootout.
Unlike in the previous rounds, VAR will be in use at the semi-final stage.
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Form guide
City beat Bournemouth, Burnley and Arsenal to reach the last four and come into this game on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
United overcame Luton Town, Brighton and Hove Albion and Everton on their way to the semi-final stage and are unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions.
In the Premier League, City sit fifth, three places and four points behind United, but with a game in hand.
In a game of few chances, City’s best fell to Riyad Mahrez, but his shot was well saved by David De Gea, whilst at the other end, United saw a penalty decision overturned by VAR when Marcus Rashford was shown to be offside before he was fouled by Kyle Walker.
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Match officials
Referee: Martin Atkinson Assistants: Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton Fourth Official: David Coote VAR: Jonathan Moss Assistant VAR: Lee Betts
Premier League standings
