MANCHESTER, England -- New Manchester City keeper Claudio Bravo will be thrown into the Manchester derby for his Premier League debut.
City boss Pep Guardiola also said Germany internationals Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane could make their first appearances for the club since joining in the summer but Vincent Kompany may have to wait longer to make his comeback.
Bravo, who arrived from Barcelona in a £13.5 million deal to replace England keeper Joe Hart, was left out of the squad for City's last game against West Ham -- just four days after he signed.
But Guardiola confirmed that the Chile international, who only trained with his new teammates for the first time on Thursday, will start against United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
"He's fit, he's ready," Guardiola told a news conference. "This kind of player, 32 or 33-years-old, has the experience. He has to save the goals."
Gundogan has been recovering from a dislocated kneecap, suffered while at Borussia Dortmund in May, which ruled him out of the European Championship.
However, the £21m signing has been back in full training for more than two weeks while Sane, who joined from Schalke in August, is also available after overcoming a minor hamstring injury.
Bravo, Gundogan and Sane available - Kompany not ready.
Press conference report: https://t.co/Z9JS8xTFHu #utdvcity pic.twitter.com/nxC5mTyTjM
- Manchester City (@ManCity) September 9, 2016
City captain Kompany has returned to training after stepping up his recovery from a thigh strain picked up last May in the Champions League semifinal defeat to Real Madrid.
But Guardiola wants to be careful with the Belgian defender after a number of injuries last season that saw him start just 20 of City's 58 games.
The City boss said: "Sane, in terms of his condition, is the best player in this moment. Gundogan is much better. Kompany is training but we are waiting for the doctor to say what his blood test is.
"We don't want to take too much risk after what happened in the past. We want to make sure that when he comes back he is 100 percent fit."
Guardiola is sure to be without striker Sergio Aguero, who was given a three-match ban after elbowing West Ham defender Winston Reid in City's last game.
Sane could potentially be in line to start the game although Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho is favourite to deputise.
The City boss says he will go on the attack at Old Trafford but warned his players that they must be aware of United's strength in the air -- particularly from set pieces.
"I want the ball, I want to attack as much as possible, I want to control the game and I want to concede few counter-attacks -- to try to play good," Guardiola added. "I would like to play how we did in the last five official games.
"They have a lot of talent up front, Mata between the lines is so dangerous, the full-backs go so offensive and the quality of Rooney and Ibrahimovic and Martial is so so fast and the set pieces with tall guys is impossible to control so they are a top team."