Midfielder enforcer Manuel Ugarte saw just 9 minutes of action in Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday, so it’s safe to assume that Head Coach Ruben Amorim has a starting role in mind for the Uruguayan in Sunday’s Derby.

Ugarte has been averaging 2.68 fouls per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season and a derby day skirmish with possession-hungry City looks like the perfect setting for another aggressive performance from the 23-year-old. Back Ugarte to commit at least 2 fouls at The Etihad Stadium.

Phil Foden has been off-colour this season, though the attacking midfielder is a tried and trusted Manchester Derby specialist and his excellent record in this fixture could earn him a recall to Pep Guardiola’s starting XI on Sunday.

Foden has been drawing 2.00 fouls per 90 minutes in the Premier League this term and wary of the threat he carries, United’s players are likely to single him out for rough treatment again here. Foden was fouled 7 times combined in his last 2 outings against the Red Devils, so look for him to draw at least 2 more fouls this weekend.

Despite not being at his razor-sharp best, Erling Haaland is the Premier League’s joint-top-scorer alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (13 goals each), though the well-serviced Norwegian is out on his own in the division in terms of total shots on target mustered (36).

Haaland has been averaging an excellent 2.40 shots on target per 90 in the league, while the 24-year-old has also clocked at least 2 shots on target in 10 of his last 13 runouts for club and country overall. Like Foden, Haaland is an established Manchester Derby protagonist and he represents top value in the 2+ shots on target bracket again here.

Andre Onana is reeling from blunders in successive games for Man Utd, however, the Cameroonian stopper has generally been one of his team’s most reliable performers this season and United will need the 28-year-old’s reflexes to be rapid in Sunday’s Derby.

Onana has been averaging 3.84 saves per 90 minutes in the Premier League this term, though that figure is likely to climb at The Etihad Stadium. City rank second in the division so far for average shots on target per 90 (5.93) and Onana was forced into action 5 times when he last played at that venue in March. Expect Onana to be just as busy there on Sunday.

Noussair Mazraoui has been committing a relatively modest 1.50 fouls per 90 minutes in the Premier League this term, though the Moroccan has been tackling with more aggression since switching from fullback to centre-half in Ruben Amorim’s system and his figures are starting to climb.

The 27-year-old was collared for 3 fouls in United’s last away fixture in the league at Arsenal and Mazraoui gave away another 2 free kicks on Thursday evening when the Red Devils visited Czechia to play Plzen in the Europa League. With United likely to be pinned back for large swathes of Sunday’s Derby, look for Mazraoui to foul at least twice again.

Manchester United’s defensive weaknesses during set pieces were exploited by both Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in their last 2 Premier League matches, and City will be determined to apply pressure to that weak spot in Sunday’s Derby encounter.

Josko Gvardiol, who ranks third at City in the Premier League this term for total shots racked up (21), has the physical presence to ruffle feathers in the United defence. The Croatian has been averaging 1.56 shots and 0.52 shots on target per 90 in the division since August, so he might be worth considering as an option to land just 1 shot on target on Derby day.

Kevin De Bruyne is approaching peak fitness and his influence is starting to grow. The Belgian started each of Man City’s last three games and let loose with 8 attempts at goal across those appearances. The 33-year-old clipped 2 shots on target in City’s last home game against Nottingham Forest and the attacking midfield could make a similar impact against United.

De Bruyne missed the Community Shield and lasted just 56 minutes of the FA Cup Final in May, however, the veteran had 5 attempts at goal when he played 90 minutes for City against United at The Etihad in March and should carry plenty of threat again in this weekend’s Derby. De Bruyne has had at least 1 shot on target in 3 of his last 5 outings for City and he can match that output on Sunday.

Manchester United naively conceded a sizable 13 corners against set-piece specialists Arsenal in their last Premier League away fixture and their habit of defending too deep against high-calibre opponents could see them concede a similar number in Sunday’s Derby at The Etihad Stadium.

City have been winning more corners per 90 minutes (8.73) than any other Premier League team this season and they’ve routinely dominated both possession and the corner count in encounters with rivals United.

Pep Guardiola’s side earned 15 and 12 corners in their 2 Premier League meetings with United last season, another 7 in May’s FA Cup Final and 6 more in the Community Shield clash between the neighbours in August. That tallies up to 40 corners across 4 Manchester Derbies for City, so they should be able to clear over 6.5 corners again on Sunday with home advantage to harness.