How big is Aguero’s absence?
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Guardiola’s first big test of his City career will be against Manchester United on Saturday in the opening derby of the season, where he will go head-to-head with old foe Jose Mourinho. The following season, which started with a melee at the Spanish Super Cup in which Barcelona assistant Tito Villanova was poked in the eye by Mourinho, saw Barcelona win the Super Cup and Copa del Rey but Mourinho ended Real’s wait for the league title.
Guardiola may not worry too much as he is versed in playing without a recognised striker and has conjured plenty of threat from deeper-lying attackers such as Nolito and Raheem Sterling.
Schmeichel, who played for both Manchester sides across his 22-year career, made nearly 400 appearances for the Red Devils across his eight years at the club, and is widely considered one of the greatest ‘keepers in Premier League history.
Guardiola? He doesn’t have the b***s to sit down and talk to me and I don’t like that.
How the match unfolds, both on the pitch and the sidelines, promises to be one of the season’s most compelling events. Mourinho will be encouraged by the performances of his substitutes a fortnight ago with Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s guile and Marcus Rashford’s pace stretching the Hull side, with the latter putting in a timely reminder to the manager that he won’t just have to rely on Zlatan for goals this season. Mourinho has entrusted Antonio Valencia with the role of right-back this season, with the Ecuadorean having previously spent most of his time on the fringes of the squad. Vincent Kompany remains a doubt, while Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan are available to make their debuts but may not be fit enough to play. Full-back Bacary Sagna has also made a full recovery from a hamstring injury. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star player for his side, scoring both goals when the Red Devils hosted the Saints.
Jose Mourinho has instructed his Manchester United players to bully Manchester City in the air as Old Trafford braces itself for the most high-profile match in British top-flight history.
The party continued for young striker Rashford when the pair met in March earlier this year.
“All the players are talking about what he (Mourinho) wants to win”.
One thing that makes this tie very interesting is the fact that both coaches have rekindled their rivalry over the years at domestic and continental levels of the game. City have a good record at Old Trafford in recent seasons, winning three of the past five matches away from home.
Nigerian global Kelechi Iheanacho was one of the highlights of what ultimately a disappointing 2015/16 season for Manchester City.
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Fernandinho believes Guardiola has already changed the club’s mentality and that City will be a far tougher proposition for United than the side that lost two of the previous three derbies under Manuel Pellegrini.
