What issues need fixing at Man City?

Manchester City head into Sunday's crunch derby trailing rivals Manchester United by a point at the start of an important week for Pep Guardiola's men.

City last went into a Manchester derby behind United in the table in December 2020, when they were eighth and the Old Trafford club one place above.

United manager Ruben Amorim's issues have been laid bare in public following a humiliating Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Grimsby and Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney stating something is "broken" at the club.

But United have some momentum as they go into the game on the back of a last-gasp victory against Burnley before the international break, while City have suffered back-to-back defeats.

Guardiola's side find themselves in a difficult moment even at this early juncture in the season, and the Spaniard has issues to fix to prevent any concerns turning into a full crisis.

Asked whether the game is bigger for City or United, Guardiola told BBC Sport: "I am thinking about ourselves. We always have respect for our city rivals.

"We came back on Thursday - players came back good - and I am looking forward to it for our fans. I know how important it is.

"[It is] a really important game for us to change the dynamic and I trust the players a lot. We are going to do a good game."

Last term was a particularly disappointing one for Guardiola and his side, failing to lift a major trophy for the first time in eight years.

One season without silverware is poor enough for the Spaniard and, though it is still early days, ending 2025-26 without triumphing would be unthinkable.

Guardiola needed to refresh a playing squad that often lacked energy last season, and did so in his usual ruthless manner.

Out went serial winners with huge personalities in Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson and Manuel Akanji, while Scott Carson made an exit too. He was highly valued for his presence around the squad as a mentor to the younger players.

The dressing room has lost a significant amount of experience which has been built over a number of years and cannot simply be replaced overnight.

Guardiola has turned to the exuberance of youth in an attempt to wrestle the title back from Liverpool, who look to be heavy favourites to retain their crown following heavy investment in the summer.

While City have added 10 new players to the squad since January with a total expenditure of about £350m, it is dwarfed by the Reds strengthening their squad to the tune of a record £415m this summer.

But City go into another campaign without a recognised right-back, with Rico Lewis struggling somewhat in the home loss against Tottenham, while Matheus Nunes came in against Brighton and conceded a penalty in the defeat.

Guardiola pointed to an extensive injury list for last season's travails, and they are stacking up once more as new signing Rayan Cherki has been ruled out for two months with a thigh injury, missing out on the revenge he vowed to take against United.

Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mateo Kovacic are also sidelined, John Stones is a doubt, and Josko Gvardiol and Savinho are yet to make an appearance this season.

Club insiders have told BBC Sport that training has gone well and there is confidence heading into Sunday's fixture after a disappointing result at home to Spurs and failing to get anything out of the game at Brighton despite playing well.

But there was also an acknowledgement that this is a big week for City - they host their rivals before the emotional return of De Bruyne with Napoli in the Champions League on Thursday, followed by a trip to fellow title contenders Arsenal next Sunday.

There has been real confusion around the goalkeeping situation at City this summer too.

Speaking in June, Guardiola said the two keepers they have - Ederson and Stefan Ortega - "will continue", with both going on to play at the Club World Cup in the USA.

Having not seemingly been in the market for a new keeper, City then ended up signing three.

Marcus Bettinelli was brought in to cover the departure of Carson, while City had matching rights on Newcastle's £27m bid for Burnley's James Trafford, and the club felt the prospect of re-signing the Englishman was too good to turn down.

Ederson, meanwhile, went from being declared Guardiola's number one, external before the opening Premier League game against Wolves to being shipped off to Fenerbahce a mere 18 days later.

In came Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain on deadline day after the Italy number one was brutally axed by Luis Enrique, despite helping the club to the Treble last season.

Despite being deemed surplus to requirements, Ortega remains at the Etihad too, having turned down options to leave, meaning Guardiola has four first-team keepers on the books.

"A lot of people didn't really understand the true value of Ederson because his shot-stopping is great, but his ability to get on the ball and to be the spare player that can create something," former City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC's Football Focus.

"Now he's gone, the people who are trying to fill those boots won't be able to do it in the same way.

"From a City perspective, if their goalkeeper continues to get pressed and make those sorts of errors, it will encourage the opposition and change how City play."

It is hard to envisage Donnarumma being signed to sit on the bench, which leaves Trafford in a situation where he thought he was coming in as the long-term heir to Ederson, but instead playing second fiddle to the towering Italian.

Despite being only 26, Donnarumma brings vast experience as an elite, match-winning keeper with incredible shot-stopping ability, and he now has the opportunity to showcase his talents in England.

"He is so tall; he is so huge," Guardiola said. "[From] all the keepers we want safe balls, give confidence to the team, have personality and a big presence.

"In the biggest stages in the Champions League last season, at Villa Park, Anfield and in many games, he proved how good he is."

With United also experiencing difficulties in between the sticks, they signed Belgian Sanne Lammens on deadline day, but Amorim confirmed Altay Bayindir will start in goal on Sunday.

City have been surprisingly poor and, despite United's own frailties this season, Amorim's men may target two specific weaknesses.

Amorim's game model, as analysed earlier this season, centres around aiming to entice pressure before launching direct passes, often for team-mates running in behind.

Secondly, their system focuses on playing down the flanks rather than centrally, often aiming to overload the wide areas.

Two of City's biggest weaknesses have come in both of these areas. Against Spurs and Brighton, City conceded from situations in which they failed to press the opposition's wide defender.

This player then played a direct pass down the flank, where both Spurs and Brighton had positioned extra players. After losing the duel, the opposition were able to attack City's disorganised backline before scoring.

United's tendency to go long, overloading the wide areas, may therefore pose a challenge City will need to be aware of, particularly if they can find a player with the hold-up quality of Bryan Mbeumo.

"I don't think this is a City we're used to seeing. We started to say that last season and we thought a lot of that was because of the absence of Rodri," former England midfielder Fara Williams told Football Focus.

"But I feel like they still have the same habits defensively, in terms of the mistakes they were making and conceding goals in the same manner they were last year."

City have also struggled to win duels in the middle of the pitch when games have become stretched - a hallmark of matches United have played so far.

United's Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Mason Mount have won 55%, 61% and 65% of their respective duels this season.

City's midfield cohort have standouts in Nico Gonzalez (73%) and Rodri (71%), but generally have struggled otherwise with Bernardo Silva (26%), Rayan Cherki (38%) and Tijjani Reijnders (44%) bringing the average down.

"They're caught in two stalls at the minute. They want to be aggressive, but if you're a bit late it doesn't work," Onuoha added.

Guardiola's midfield selection and their ability to win duels against a direct United will be a key factor in this weekend's derby.