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Well folks, we've arrived. After much waiting including bucket loads of anxiety, confidence, and excitement, we're an hour from kickoff in the season's first Manchester derby. A lot is riding on this one for both teams as City come in to this one in second, a point off Arsenal after their win yesterday, and United a further two points behind. Add that to the fact that, well, it's a Manchester derby, and you've got the formula for an electric 90 minutes.
How to watch:
TV - Sky Sports 1 (UK), NBCSN (USA), TSN1 (Canada), FOX Sports 4 (Australia)
Streaming - Sky GO Extra (UK), NBC Sports Live Extra (USA), Foxtel Play (Australia)
The lineups from Old Trafford:
City XI: Hart, Sagna, Kompany (C), Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, Toure, Sterling, De Bruyne, Bony #utdvcity #mcfc
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) October 25, 2015
Subs: Caballero, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Mangala, Roberts, Navas, Iheanacho #utdvcity #mcfc
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) October 25, 2015
#mufc XI: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Rojo; Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Herrera; Mata, Rooney, Martial. pic.twitter.com/PGURTTYAzc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 25, 2015
The big news here is that skipper Vincent Kompany returns to the starting XI after speculation of a rift between he and Manuel Pellegrini was denied midweek. A lot of City fans wanted to see the two Ferns start together in midfield behind Toure, and that's exactly what we'll get. Sterling and KDB will operate the sides with Bony up top. All in all, an XI that seems good. This is also the first time we will be seeing a Kompany-Otamendi partnernship, if my memory serves me well.
Thoughts on the lineup? Predictions for the match? Nervous? Excited? Let us know in the comments below, and enjoy the match!