This Sunday at Etihad Stadium, the most anticipated match in world soccer this weekend will take place: on Matchday 3 of the Premier League, Manchester City will host Manchester United. But the massive attention surrounding the game is also bringing plenty of tension for both clubs, given the struggles they’ve faced in recent weeks.
On top of the disappointing results both teams have had at the start of the 2025–26 season, managers Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim are facing a shared dilemma: choosing a goalkeeper.
Manchester City confirmed last week the departure of Ederson to Fenerbahce in Turkey, which paved the way for Gianluigi Donnarumma to arrive from Paris Saint-Germain. While the Italian goalkeeper’s signing was one of the headline moves of the European summer transfer window, it’s still unclear whether he’ll immediately become a starter.
In the first three Premier League matches, that role was given to James Trafford. Despite being just 22 years old, the English player performed solidly and left Guardiola satisfied. “He is a keeper for Man City,” the coach said Friday when asked about the position, according to the BBC.
Donnarumma joined Manchester City this summer.
Because of this, Guardiola has yet to confirm who will start in goal for the derby against Manchester United. “I can only play one keeper, I can play two full-backs, two centre-backs… The season is so long everyone will be involved. They may not believe it but they will,” said Pep.
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Guardiola praises Donnarumma
In the same Friday press conference, Guardiola spoke highly of Donnarumma, who only joined training a day earlier after featuring for the Italian national team in World Cup qualifiers. “He is so tall, he is so huge,” the coach began.
“From all the keepers we want is safe balls, give confidence to the team, have personality and a big presence… In the biggest stages in the Champions League last season, at Villa Park, Anfield and in many games, he proved how good he is,” Pep said about Donnarumma. “He is going to concede goals, that is for sure, but all of us, we are going to try to handle it.”
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Manchester United’s goalkeeping situation
Just like the Citizens had to find a new keeper this summer to replace Ederson, Manchester United faced a similar task. The difference, however, is that their search wasn’t due to the departure of a superstar, but because of the underwhelming performances from Andre Onana.
The Cameroonian keeper faced heavy criticism for his errors over the past two seasons and ultimately left this summer to join Trabzonspor in Turkey. The Red Devils searched for a replacement and spent £21.7 million (roughly $30 million) to sign Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in Belgium.
After such a significant investment, it seemed likely that Lammens would immediately take over as United’s starting goalkeeper. However, Ruben Amorim made it clear he has other plans and confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start against Manchester City.
“Altay is going to continue,” Amorim said Friday, according to the Daily Mail. Explaining why Lammens won’t start, the coach added: “Because it’s a different league, it’s a different country, different training, different goal. So we will try to maintain that and they will fight for the position. So for me, for this game, it’s clear that Altay is there. So we believe a lot in our goalkeepers. I believe in Altay, he’s ready to play.”
