Shaun Wright-Phillips: Pressing problems mean Manchester United are vulnerable

Former Manchester City star Shaun Wright-Phillips has told freesupertips.com that he is impressed by Manchester United's new-look front three but expects City to be too strong for their rivals in Sunday's Premier League derby.

"I think the combination of Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo works a lot better than Marcus Rashford or Jesse Lingard coming into that front three," Wright-Phillips said.

"There's more link-up and interchanges between those three, they can play cute little one-twos around the corner which we weren't seeing before.

"The positive for City is that I don't think this Manchester United team are sure whether they're playing high-press or counter-attack.

"The team they have is stacked for counter-attacking football, but we see them press at times, which I don't personally think they're ready for, and that's when space opens up.

"Their defenders can become isolated but the one thing about them is they will create chances because of the type of players they have.

"I hope City roll them over but derbies are almost like a cup final. If you're half off the pace, then you can lose the game. With the way City are playing under Pep Guardiola that very rarely happens, though.

"They had a blip against Spurs, with the defensive errors which ultimately cost them that day, but that blip has gone so United have missed that boat. I don't think it'll be easy but I still think Manchester City will win the game."

With Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus fit again, Guardiola has plenty of attacking options. However, Wright-Phillips thinks it will be tough for Grealish and Jesus to force their way back into the starting 11, explaining: "If I'm going with a front three, I'll have to base it on the numbers at the minute. I would go Riyad Mahrez on the right, Phil Foden through the middle and Raheem Sterling on the left.

"Jack Grealish has had a few injuries, he's still settling in and he scored a fantastic goal against Peterborough in the FA Cup.

"But those three who I picked are running with seriously impressive numbers at the minute so I would go with those guys from the start.

"We're not seeing the Grealish we saw at Aston Villa, who collects the ball, takes on two or three players and either gets a foul or a shot off. City don't play that way, so he's learning about himself, and I think it's making him a better all-round player.

"He's always going to be able to do what his strengths are and what we've seen him do before. But if he can adapt to the way Manchester City play, rotating across that front three, popping up in positions that Pep Guardiola puts them in, then he will score more goals because all those forwards score goals.

"It's only going to benefit him and he's getting there, you can see it already with the goal he scored against Peterborough, making that run in behind.

"Normally he'd come short for the ball, but he's gone in behind, so you can see he's understanding it. I think there's still a lot more to come from him."

Asked about Sterling's improved club form this season, Wright-Phillips said: "It's just the fact that his chances are now going in. That's one thing you can never knock Raheem for, even when he's going through a quiet spell, he still gets into the positions.

"He might have been taking an extra touch, his shot gets blocked or he misses the chance but he still gets himself into the positions which is always the hardest part. The part that was missing for him was hitting the back of the net, which we all know he can do over the past four or five seasons."

Asked whether he thought any United players would get into the current City side, Wright-Phillips said: "No, not really. I would have said before Ronaldo went off the boil that he could get into City's team. The one who would be the closest is Elanga right now."

Away from the Manchester derby, Wright-Phillips hopes to see West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen named in Gareth Southgate's next England squad.

"If you go off the performances of the English wingers this season, he's led the line consistently for West Ham this season," he said.

"Michail Antonio started fantastically well, he's still playing well just not scoring the goals, but the person who's stepped up and taken that responsibility on his shoulders is Bowen.

"His performances in general, whether he's scored or not, have been unbelievable. He would be my number-one pick for the England squad.

"The way Southgate seems to have done it since he's taken over is that if you're playing well consistently then you get picked so, by rights, Bowen should be called up."

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