Manchester derby XI: Romelu Lukaku and Gabriel Jesus miss out in Charlie Nicholas’ line-up

We challenged Charlie Nicholas to pick his best Manchester XI ahead of Sunday derby.

The Soccer Saturday pundit has favoured Manchester United players in his defence, while Man City attackers dominate in the forward positions.

The Manchester derby, live from 4.15pm on Sky Sports Premier League, is also this weekend’s Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side fixture, with £5,000 up for grabs for the highest-scoring six.

Here is Charlie’s XI in full and the reasons behind his selections…

My first pick has to be David de Gea. He was unbelievable against Arsenal last weekend and over the last 18 months he’s established himself as the best in the world. To maintain such concentration and consistency in a top side is incredible.

Then I’m going for Antonio Valencia as my right back. Kyle Walker is quicker, but Valencia has more of a powerful presence and he also scores more goals than the England international.

There’s not such a luxury of great options on the left. Neither side really has a standout player, with Benjamin Mendy out and Jose Mourinho clearly doesn’t fancy Luke Shaw or Daley Blind. Fabian Delph has equipped himself impressively in that role, being a decent tackler who is also comfortable on the ball.

Vincent Kompany is the best defender from the two squads. Yes people point to his injuries taking their toll, but he’s a real leader, like John Terry, and is the complete package when fit.

I’m still not convinced by Nicolas Otamendi, though, as he’s still got too many mistakes in his game, so I’m going for Eric Bailly, who is a bit raw, but has great pace and reads the game well.

My holding midfielder would have to be Nemanja Matic. He allows my Hollywood players to go about their business and there’s plenty of great options to pick from.

Paul Pogba has really benefited from Matic’s arrival and it is no coincidence that his game has improved so much this season.

However, the rest of the attack comes from the blue side of Manchester, starting with the best in the business right now, Kevin De Bruyne.

Keeping track of him and David Silva is virtually impossible so Silva’s absence is a big blow, although Pep Guardiola certainly isn’t short of options to replace him.

People are suggesting that Raheem Sterling is City’s most improved player this season, but he’s still behind Leroy Sane for me. He’s learnt the importance of maintaining the width in City’s attacks and his movement is incredible.

Then it is a fairly easy pick for me to lead the line, Sergio Aguero. Jamie Carragher suggested that Silva is City’s greatest-ever player, but for me it is the record-breaker Aguero who has really been key to elevating them through the ranks.

Romelu Lukaku would struggle to get on to my bench as I think Zlatan Ibrahimovic is United’s most important striker. Lukaku hasn’t delivered in the big games so I wouldn’t be surprised if Zlatan started on Sunday.

Leaving out Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford was harder for me. I think Rashford will be United’s first-choice No 9 in a couple of seasons.

(c) Sky News 2017: Manchester derby XI: Romelu Lukaku and Gabriel Jesus miss out in Charlie Nicholas’ line-up