Manchester City v Manchester United: Combined XI

David Silva

Even at the age of 31, David Silva runs the midfield. The smartest thing that City have done over the last few years is to surround Silva with pace – De Bruyne, Sterling, Sane. He was never the fastest of players but over the last year City have heavily invested in fast ball-carriers who have taken the pressure from the Spaniard to beat every player. When he joined the club he would dribble between the lines and cause havoc in the central areas. Now it is his passing and vision that the Sky Blues value above all.

He is a master at the through ball – threading precise passes to his younger colleagues. He is vital to how City want to control games and Guardiola has entrusted his countryman with running the team and executing his vision for high possession football.

Paul Pogba

With a  £90 million world record transfer fee he’s got to be one of the best players in the league right? Well not quite. At least not yet. Even though the heights have not been stellar is has been a steady year for the world’s most expensive player. He returned to his former club with a flashy video with London Grime star Stormzy and the world was expecting him to take the Premier League by storm.

The first few months of the season were hard as he was deployed much deeper in midfield than he was at Juventus. Mourinho tried to fit him in with Mata and Mkhitaryan but instead it pushed him too deep in the formation where he was unable to influence games. Now that Ander Herrera has been introduced to the side it has allowed Pogba to follow his attacking instincts. A solid year for the Frenchman.

Ander Hererra

The young Spaniard started the year on the bench , struggling to get past Fellaini and Carrick in the pecking order. He bided his time, trained well, learned Mourinho’s system and took the chance when it came his way. Since the turn of the year Herrera has arguably United’s best player. He has grown in stature and confidence. That confidence is shared by his manager who now seems willing to trust him in big game situations.

I am sure United will try to bolster their midfield this summer but perhaps the best thing they could do is purchase a Kante type disrupter who can allow Herrera to be the technician and Pogba as the driving attacking force of Mourinho’s three-man midfield.