With both sides in disarray, Sunday's Manchester derby is one of the most unusual meetings between the two for decades, writes Simon Stone.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have won one game in their past 10 matches, while Ruben Amorim has won one Premier League match of the four he has played since taking charge of the Red Devils.Asked to look ahead to his first Manchester derby in the wake of his side's 2-1 comeback Europa League victory over Czech side Viktoria Plzen, Amorim got straight to the point.
Since Amorim replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag last month, United have taken four points from four Premier League games as they get used to a completely new system. Their last two league games ended in defeat by Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. The Ballon d'Or winner is one of what could be six senior City absences for the United game. Rico Lewis' suspension means Pep might only have three defenders and could be forced to select Bernardo Silva or Matheus Nunes at full-back.
Much was made of the decision to sell Julian Alvarez in the summer but the Argentine wanted to go. The £81m sale to Atletico Madrid represented good business. The error was not bringing in a replacement. Marcus Rashford scored the first goal of the Amorim reign as a centre-forward at Ipswich but his boss accepts it is not a role he is suited to and Rasmus Hojlund has since excelled in that spot.
Central midfield seems an obvious starting point, for someone who can help plug the Rodri-sized gap but also play with him when he recovers. A raid for Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes is not out of the question but there are other options elsewhere in Europe if required. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not wrong last weekend when he said in an interview the club has become "mediocre"."Without the injuries I don't know the position we would be in but I can imagine," said Guardiola. "I cannot prove it but everybody thinks we would be a better team."
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