How would a combined Manchester United and Manchester City starting XI look this season?
This season has seen Manchester City reach new heights under Pep Guardiola, demonstrating a style of football to die for, dominating sides for fun in both the league and in Europe.
Manchester United, led by Guardiola’s former El Clasico rival Jose Mourinho, have experienced fairly contrasting fortunes and, despite sitting in second place, the Portuguese boss has been heavily criticised for the manner in which his team goes about their business.
To give Mourinho some credit, United’s current league position feels solely down to the Portuguese’s pragmatism when it comes to the big games.
The Premier League team of the season will no doubt be heavily peppered with Manchester City players and rightly so, and it would be a surprise if many players other than David de Gea made it into the team from United.
But when it comes to a combined Manchester XI, would any United stars make the cut?
Despite the quality of Ederson Moares, you simply cannot look past David de Gea when it comes to selecting the goalkeeper. For most, the Spaniard is the best in the business, and his work for United over the last few years has been second to none. De Gea has probably earned more points for his team than any forward in their last couple of campaigns, and he rarely puts a foot wrong and would definitely get the nod ahead of Ederson.
Out of both squads, there have been two standout full-backs, but unfortunately they both play on the right. Regardless, the two have performed to a much higher level than the rest of the options and as a result, Kyle Walker makes it in at left-back while Antonio Valencia wins the right-back position.
At the heart of defence, on his day it is impossible to look beyond Vincent Kompany who would undoubtedly make the side. The second centre-half position would be a tough pick, with Eric Bailly, John Stones, Chris Smalling and Nicolas Otamendi all serving as credible options. In this case, however, Bailly just gets the nod.
With regards to midfield, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne pick themselves. The two are among the best in their positions in the world and simply cannot be overlooked as they continue to tear the league apart week after week. As part of a midfield three it would be a tough decision between Fernandinho or Nemanja Matic who have both looked impressive, with the United man just getting the nod, leaving no space for Paul Pogba.
That leaves the front three which, to be honest, in many ways picks itself. In fact, the hardest decision would be to choose between Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus up front, as opposed to which United player to pick over them.
Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have scored a combined 62 goals this season, and have lit the league alight through their stunning link-up play. With Romelu Lukaku being the only player you could possibly argue would make the side due to his goal tally, the Belgian is simply nowhere near the level of City’s trio and therefore the front three lines up exactly as they would for City on a Saturday afternoon.
Here is the final 4-3-3 combined Manchester XI, featuring four United stars and seven City stalwarts.
De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Kompany, Walker; Matic, De Bruyne, Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Sane
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