Ronaldo out of Manchester derby; Varane, Shaw missing with Covid

Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Sunday's Manchester derby due to a hip injury, while Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw have been sidelined with Covid.

With Edinson Cavani also absent from the matchday squad and Marcus Rashford on the bench, United's attack does not feature an out-and-out striker, with Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga and Paul Pogba set to operate in forward areas at the Etihad Stadium.

"We have two Covid cases with Rafa and Luke, and Cristiano has some problems with his hip flexor again on Friday," United's interim boss Ralf Rangnick told Sky Sports.

Manchester City will have a similarly fluid front line, with Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva in the hosts' attack, but they are missing injured centre-back Ruben Dias, in a game you can watch live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm.

This will be just the second Premier League game 37-year-old Ronaldo has missed since rejoining United this season, however, he has scored just one goal in his last 10 appearances.

Speaking ahead of kick-off on Super Sunday, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said Ronaldo's forced absence may not be as big a blow as it may seem, given the style of play United are likely to employ against their neighbours - although he had expected Rashford to start up front in Ronaldo's place.

"United over the last three or four years were a counter-attack team, really comfortable sitting back punching out on the break and that will be exactly the same today," he said.

"Cristiano not being in the team, I could never say it's a positive, but I don't see it as a big loss that I might do in other games."

Former striker Andy Cole - who played up front for both United and City - believes Pep Guardiola's