Manchester United have four players under pressure ahead of Man City showdown

Man Utd: Solskjaer previews Manchester derby

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Manchester United lock horns with Manchester City on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side go into the game looking for a return to winning ways after three goalless draws in a row, with the goals drying up. So Express Sport will now take a look at the four players under pressure to deliver ahead of the match at the Etihad Stadium.

Bruno Fernandes

For the most part, Bruno Fernandes has been a huge United hit ever since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.

But the Portugal international has struggled of late, failing to score or assist in his last three matches.

Furthermore, he’s failed to hurt the big teams this season.

Fernandes scored the winner as United beat Liverpool 3-2 in their FA Cup clash in January but, most of the time, has gone missing.

He was anonymous in both matches against City earlier in the campaign and will need to step up and deliver if his side are to stop Pep Guardiola’s team securing yet another victory.

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Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford loves scoring against Manchester City.

But the England international has found the net just twice in his last eight matches across all competitions and, therefore, must start delivering on a more regular basis.

There’s no denying Rashford has improved leaps and bounds ever since Solskjaer’s appointment as Jose Mourinho’s replacement in December 2018.

But there’s still much work to do behind the scenes if the 23-year-old is to live up to his full potential.

There’s no better game for Rashford to get back to scoring ways and United will need him to perform at the peak of his powers against Guardiola’s juggernaut on Sunday.

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Dean Henderson

Dean Henderson is set to start for United between the sticks against City.

David De Gea is primed to miss the next five matches having recently welcomed a child into the world with his pop star girlfriend.

So the onus will be on Henderson to show he deserves a crack at the No 1 jersey in the long run.

The 23-year-old has fared well when picked this season, keeping eight clean sheets from 13 matches.

And if he performs well against City, De Gea may find himself on the fringes of the action for the rest of the campaign.

Mason Greenwood

United are happy with Mason Greenwood behind the scenes.

They feel the England international’s all-round game has improved considerably but, worryingly, the goals have dried up.

Greenwood has scored just one goal in the league this season – which is pretty concerning when you consider he’s a regular in Solskjaer’s side.

So with the 19-year-old primed to start against City, the Red Devils will be hoping he can achieve consistency again.

A goal would be most welcome, while just a positive showing in general should do wonders for his confidence.

Solskjaer relaxed

Solskjaer was relaxed about the City game when speaking on Friday, saying: “Our focus is just on this one game and not where we are going to end up.

“We just have to be the best possible Man United and end up trying to improve on last season, of course.

“That means moving up the table, getting more points, hopefully challenge or get to a final and get a trophy.

“What other teams do, we can’t control. We just have to keep at it ourselves, challenge ourselves and, of course, at the moment they’re ahead of us by a fair distance.

“Sunday’s a good chance to test ourselves against a good team.”

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