Manchester derby could be without 13 stars

Man City will definitely be without Omar Marmoush, after the Egyptian star suffered a knee injury in the match against Burkina Faso on Tuesday (9/9). Marmoush was on crutches and had his right knee in a brace when he returned to Cairo (Egypt) on Wednesday morning.

A statement from the Egyptian Football Federation said: "Egypt team doctor Mohamed Abou El-Ela confirmed that Marmoush has damaged knee ligaments and will undergo imaging to accurately assess the extent of the injury." As for Man City, through a preliminary assessment, it was also announced that the 26-year-old striker will miss the Manchester derby at the weekend. He will return to Manchester for further tests and begin the rehabilitation process.

In addition to Marmoush, Pep Guardiola could be without eight other players. Rayan Cherki is currently expected to be out for two months with a thigh injury while Kalvin Phillips and Mateo Kovacic are still out with Achilles tendon problems.

Defensive trio Josko Gvardiol, Abdukodir Khusanov and John Stones are also likely to miss the derby. Stones had raised hopes of a return to the England squad last week, but withdrew due to muscle pain. Phil Foden and Savinho, who missed the defeat to Brighton last week, are also racing against time to recover.

Manchester United are no better off. Their difficult start could be complicated by an injury crisis. Manager Ruben Amorim will be without four key players for Sunday's trip to the Etihad.

£62.5m new signing Matheus Cunha suffered a hamstring strain against Burnley, ruling him out of Brazil's 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Mason Mount and Diogo Dalot are also likely to miss out, as is Lisandro Martinez, who has not played since February.

However, Man City and MU could debut new goalkeepers in the derby. The Citizens recruited Gianluigi Donnarumma while the Red Devils signed Senne Lammens just before the transfer window closed.