Notable absentees as FULL Manchester United squad to face Man City revealed

Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer [COURTESY]

Manchester United welcome noisy neighbours Manchester City to Old Trafford at 7:30p pm EAT tonight in what is expected to be a mouthwatering Premier League encounter.

The Man United squad was spotted at Lowry Hotel last night with notable absentees in winger Daniel James and defender Harry Maguire.

Maguire is reported to have sustained an ankle injury in training earlier in the week right before the FA Cup encounter with Derby County.

Harry Maguire (right) could be out after sustaining an ankle injury in training. Marcus Rashford is definitely out [COURTESY]

“It's touch and go because he rolled his ankle and he twisted his ankle, but hopefully he'll recover quickly. I wasn't going to rest him today. But I hope he'll be fit," said Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Daniel James got a knock and has missed two consecutive games and the boss has admitted he and right-back Aaron wan-Bissaka have not been in training.

“None of them have been training yet since the last game. We've got to look at them Saturday probably,” he said.

Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are still out of contention even though the Frenchman is expected back in full training next week.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed Solskjaer’s impact at Man United, applauding the club’s style of play and support for the manager.

“They are scoring a lot of goals, they create chances, they concede few, and especially they have good keepers, good defenders, a bigger squad. So with United, there is no doubt about it, all the time, every season, they have good teams.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after the match with Phil Foden after the Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa [COURTESY]

I think Solskjær represents Man United in an exceptional way, and I think in the good moments, Ole arrives with an incredible impact in terms of results and afterwards, maybe they drop a little bit. But on both sides of the club they are stable," said Guardiola.

Solskjaer expects his team to give Man City a run for their money, having shown great resilience in their last nine unbeaten games.

"We are nine games unbeaten, so it is easier for me to stand here and say that. But I have seen ­improvement all the time. Now with the signings we’ve made as well it is starting to give us that little edge.

"Every game against City is massive. But we have shown we can compete with them on a given day. And with what we are doing to the squad, building the squad, I think we will get that ­consistency," he told the press.

Solskjaer’s men need only three points to tie with fourth-placed Chelsea, who welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge at 5:00 pm.

However, a fifth-place finish could guarantee them a Champions League place last season, should Manchester City’s European ban appeal fail to materialise.

Here’s the Red Devils squad that could face Manchester City according to MU Evening News:

PROVISIONAL MAN UNITED SQUAD

David de Gea, Sergio Romero, *Maguire* Nathan Bishop, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, Brandon Williams, Nemanja Matic, Fred, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira, Juan Mata, Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood