I can see Bryan Mbeumo hurting City, with United counter-attacking and him being a thorn in their backline chasing balls in behind. I am also not as convinced by City if James Trafford keeps his place in goal.
So, I think United will definitely score, but I still cannot go against City at Etihad Stadium because we know they will create chances there.
It is a massive week for them, with Napoli visiting in the Champions League on Thursday before they head to Arsenal next weekend, and of course people are going to judge them on these results. After losing two of their first three league games, this week could decide if they are in the title race, or if they are ruled out of it.
I don’t want to keep bringing up the goalkeeper but City’s chances of getting the results they need will definitely be improved if new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma is in goal because right now they need a big presence there, and Trafford doesn’t give them that.
The same position is a huge call for United boss Ruben Amorim on Sunday too, but in a totally different way.
United signed Senne Lammens ahead of Villa’s Emi Martinez, who has definitely got the kind of presence that brings confidence to his defence the same way Donnarumma does.
We know Lammens has got these amazing save statistics, but there is much more to being Manchester United’s goalkeeper than that. As Rory Smith basically said on the Monday Night Club, they don’t count for much anyway, because he has been playing in the Belgian league and they are rubbish at shooting.
Joking aside, what we don’t know at the moment is much about Lammens’ character or how he will adapt to the Premier League.
Is he ready to be United’s keeper or not? If Amorim picks Altay Bayindir over him against City, then people are going to scrutinise that decision and ask why on earth he didn’t put Lammens in straight away if he rates him so highly.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Tommy’s prediction: City are leaky, but so are United. 3-2
AI’s prediction: 2-2
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