Manchester United v Manchester City: Derby combined XI

Sergio Aguero and David Silva both miss this fixture through injuryOne of the biggest and most intense game in the Premier League is about to take place tomorrow when Manchester City will take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. These fixtures used to be a fairly one-sided affair before the oil-rich Sheikhs from the land of the desert got in the way and injected competitiveness in the fixture.Ten years ago, a combined XI of these two teams would have been overloaded with players from the red half of Manchester. Now, however, the tides have changed—and recent history is the best testament to City’s rise as Manchester’s major power.If a team is to be built combining these two archrivals, then now there is certainly more competition for places. Without further ado, let’s have a look the combined XI—in a 4-2-3-1 formation—of Manchester ahead of tomorrow’s game at the Theatre of Dreams. 

#1 Goalkeeper

David De Gea

David De Gea is perhaps the best goalkeeper in the league and is slightly ahead of Joe Hart when it comes to guarding the sticks. The Spaniard’s Manchester United career began in an erratic manner, a time when many fans thought he wasn’t the caliber that is required of a Van der Sar successor, but he went on to establish himself as their best player in the post-Ferguson era.

The stats may very well go in favour of the Englishman, with 32 clean sheets in the last 2 seasons compared to De Gea’s 25 in the same period, but what can’t be denied is that Hart was defended by much superior defenders than the ones that guard David De Gea.

In the dark post-Ferguson era, only he stood unmoved and strong like a mountain in the midst of a storm. The fact that he won United’s players’ player of the year award for the last 2 seasons consecutively just goes on to show how revered he is among his team-mates.

Add to that the fans’ relief at the breakdown of his last minute move to Real Madrid in the last window and he have a player who is almost irreplaceable as the guardian of the goal.