Man Utd starting XI to face Man City 'leaked' hours before derby and fans are furious

An 'unconfirmed' Manchester United starting XI for the Manchester derby has been 'leaked' by a journalist hours before kick-off against Manchester City.

United go into the clash at the Etihad Stadium in 13th place in the Premier League after winning one of their opening four domestic matches under Ruben Amorim.

City, meanwhile, have won one in nine in all competitions since the end of October, and their title hopes already appear to be hanging by a thread.

They are still in a far better position, though, than United, with minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently calling the club 'mediocre' before reportedly sacking sporting director Dan Ashworth days later.

Another developing issue at Old Trafford has been the 'leaking' of team news before it is officially announced, with several prominent United fan accounts on Twitter seemingly gaining access to the teams before posting them on the social media platform.

The full lineup - with the caveat being that it is, as yet, 'unconfirmed' - has been leaked again on social media, but from an unexpected source.

Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst has posted the entire 'leaked' lineup to his Facebook page.

He commented: "That's obviously unconfirmed and will be fascinating to see if it's completely correct.

"Teams have leaked out of United for years but the current regularity, brazen manner of it and apparently public identity of the source make it more of an issue than the days when Mourinho would ask me if I knew the team at press conferences."

Unsurprisingly, United fans were left furious at seeing the 'leak' on social media so far away from kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.

Ruben Amorim watches on during Man Utd's 2-1 Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen on Thursday (Image: Getty)

One asked: "How has a line-up been leaked 17 HOURS before the game? This is no longer funny."

A second added: "It's disgraceful that these leaks are happening hours before the official lineup from the club is revealed."

But a third put forward a different theory: "I hope this Man Utd leak is some elaborate Wagatha Christie-style set up by Amorim."

Speaking ahead of the game, Amorim confirmed that he was set to have a full squad to choose from with the exception of Luke Shaw, who remains absent through injury.