Manchester City and Manchester United meet yet again in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, and managers Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho will face off for the second time this season.
Guardiola drew first blood in the rivalry in Manchester with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in September, where a wealth of talent was on the pitch.
The teams possess over £600m worth of accumulated talent, so a combined XI should be easy to create, but it never is.
Let’s be honest: you’ve seen combined XI’s for these two teams before. If you’re anything like me, then you are clicking onto this to see what atrocity has been created this time.
I’m afraid that no atrocity is forthcoming.
In creating this combined XI, I am taking the Antonio Conte approach; rather than picking the most talented players, I am going to choose the ones who fit the system best and would provide the best balance across the pitch.
GK: David De Gea
De Gea has been the best goalkeeper in the league for the past three seasons and nothing, not even Claudio Bravo, is going to convince me to drop him from this team. This is probably the only position in this team where everyone who creates them has the same player.
RB: Bacary Sagna
Sagna is solid defensively, but more wary in attacking areas. That fits perfectly for this team. This way, the right midfielder that I have picked is allowed freedom to drift in and out of wide and central positions, giving him more influence on the game.
CB: John Stones
Stones’ composure is next to nothing in the Premier League. Somehow, an Englishman who doesn’t lack composure in nerving situations has been created (I know, how on Earth did that happen?) and it makes him an invaluable asset to the team. Stones is a very conservative defender and would partner very nicely with an aggressive one…
CB: Eric Bailly
This position was a toss-up between Bailly and Nicolas Otamendi. Both are very aggressive with their interceptions and can either be fantastic or terrifyingly useless in each match. Every team needs a player like that. He’s a scapegoat for the fans but can also single-handedly win a match.
LB: Luke Shaw
Shaw just ousts Aleksandar Kolarov for this spot, despite the Serbian starting the season in exceptional form. Both left-backs enjoy attacking, but Shaw has a better balance between defence and attack. That, again, leaves more freedom for the man on at left midfield.
CM: Fernandinho
Another position that is never usually argued. Fernandinho consistently performs at a high standard and you never see him standing still on the pitch. His unmatched energy and movement makes him the perfect central midfielder.
CM: David Silva
Fernandinho can easily control the midfield on his own, as shown in Manchester City’s performances this season. However, putting Silva in their with him makes the midfield even harder to break down and puts Silva’s accurate long-range passing to good use. The Spaniard has assisted more goals than anyone else since he arrived from Valencia in 2010 and could benefit from being played in a deeper role.
RM: Kevin De Bruyne
Because of the other talent in this team, De Bruyne has been forced to move into a wide position. The 25-year-old mostly operated on the right-hand side last season, when he scored 10 goals and got nine assists. Although it isn’t his natural position, De Bruyne could still do a fantastic job here.
CAM: Paul Pogba
The £89m man. Pogba has struggled to adapt (or re-adapt) to English football but still eases in this team. Yes, he is yet to live up to his price tag in the Premier League, but he has been playing in a deeper role. When he is given more attacking freedom, like in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Leicester, then he is at his most dangerous.
LM: Raheem Sterling
An English left side. Shaw and Sterling both complement each other in such a way that it would be exciting to see them together. Sterling looks revitalised this season under Guardiola and would benefit even more from the constant overlapping runs of Shaw.
ST: Sergio Aguero
This one all depends on how you want the team to play. If you want it to be based on build-up play, then Aguero is your man. If you want your team to be direct, then Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the one that you need. I’ve gone for the former purely because his style of play suits the players that I have picked around him more than Ibrahimovic’s does.