5 talking points ahead of the Manchester derby

The much-awaited mouth-watering clash between the league toppers and the second in place is set to take place on Sunday, 10 December 2017 at Old Trafford.

Manchester City will be keen to continue their dominance in the league with their goal-scoring abilities, which has been extraordinary this season. They would like to keep a familiar scoreline of 2-1 which they have been maintaining in the previous three consecutive league matches.

They have been unbeaten so far in the league. Meanwhile, Manchester United who play hosts would like to stop the toppers' run and narrow the eight points gap between them. This is their best chance of doing so.

Here we look at 5 of the main talking points that could well affect the result of the Manchester derby.

#5 Pogba's suspension

Paul Pogba picked up a red card against Arsenal

First off, the biggest and one of the most important talking points will be Pogba's red card. The 24-year old midfielder was awarded a red card for a stamp on Hector Bellerin during their side's away match against Arsenal last Saturday.

This is a huge blow for United since he is in good form and was someone Jose Mourinho would have liked to have to break the midfield line of City, which seems to be running on the splendid form of Kevin de Bruyne. Pogba seemed to be in very good touch in the game against Arsenal, setting up goals and performing well in the counter attacks.

This left quite a dent in United's plan but Mourinho always has something on his mind and is sure to rise up to the challenge. Mourinho has confirmed that Nemanja Matic will definitely play, so it remains to be seen who will partner him in the midfield.

Moreover, City manager Pep Guardiola said that he would have liked to play against a United that has Pogba because City wants to play against the best. Sadly, this comes after Pogba admitting that he would like to see some of the key Manchester City players injured so that United would stand a better chance of winning.

#4 City's Attacking unit

De Bruyne and Sane have an almost telepathic understanding between themselves

Manchester City appear to be on an excellent unbeaten run this season in the Premier League thanks to their attacking unit which seems to be firing from all sides. The in-form attack meant that Manchester City have become favourites to win the league this time around.

They have been scoring goals left and right and they top the scoring chart with 46 goals from 15 league games this season. Kevin de Bruyne has carried out his playmaker's role beautifully and seems to be in fine form.

Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have scored 9,9 and 8 goals respectively this season and have been effective. Who comes up on the teamsheet remains to be seen and is bound to be a factor that decides the outcome of the game.

City have been winning on a scoreline of 2-1 by putting up a late show for three consecutive league matches in a row. It remains to be seen if they take out such a game against their Manchester neighbours who are waiting for an opportunity to decrease the points gap before the January window opens.

#3 United's Clean sheets

David De Gea is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now

Manchester United have, so far, maintained the best clean sheet record this season with Mourinho's men managing to keep 9 clean sheets which accounts for 60% of their matches in the league. On top of it, they have conceded only one goal at home this season. This is one the strongest points that work in the favour of Manchester United as they look forward to the Manchester derby.

The recent display of fantastic saves by David de Gea against Arsenal in an away match which gave them a 3-1 victory will boost the confidence of United. Mourinho had admitted after the match against Arsenal that David is the best keeper in the world.

The only signs of vulnerability in the United defence were shown when they played away against Huddersfield and lost 2-1. The United team lacked determination and purpose against the lower ranked team in their league match.

But they have since picked themselves up after that, and are ready for any attack. Having someone like De Gea in the team by itself raises the chances of keeping clean sheets.

#2 City's Shakhtar Donetsk hangover

City conceded a defeat for the first time this season against Shakhtar

Manchester City tasted their first defeat of the season when they fell against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night. The team didn't have the many of the main first team players, with Pep Guardiola making as many as seven changes to his team.

David Silva was out with a neck injury and Kevin de Bruyne served his suspension while Fernandinho, Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero played the game with five players being rested. In order to qualify without depending on the results of the other group games, Shakhtar needed one point from the game. But they ended up taking all three by winning 2-1.

Although this was not a must-win game for City, Guardiola seemed keen to win all the group matches in the Champions League. This makeshift approach resulted in Manchester City suffering their first defeat this season.

For a team that was winning their last three games on a scoreline of 2-1, this was simply a timely reminder for City. Even though not much can be read into it, the question remains whether or not City will be able to shake off that defeat in the long flight from Ukraine, or whether it would affect Sunday's important clash against their neighbouring title contenders.

#1 David Silva's injury concern

David Silva is key to City's exploits this season

David Silva had scored the winning goal late in the match against West Ham but ended up injuring himself in the process. Pep Guardiola had earlier revealed that he is not sure whether Silva will be available for the Manchester derby on Sunday. Although De Bruyne is the best player in the team, it doesn't hurt to have a quality second midfielder when playing what is expected to be a high octane game against a team like United.

City fans can heave a sigh of relief as Silva is now reported as being available, at the time of writing this piece, but whether he will start or not remains a mystery. It remains one of the unknown elements as we inch closer to the game and could very well tip the scales in United's favour for the all-important clash.

This injury concern comes after Pogba was reported as saying that he would like it if Manchester City suffers injuries to some of their most important players. Ironically enough Pogba received a red card sent off in their away fixture against Arsenal and will not be featuring in Sunday's home game.