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Football is a sport encapsulated and defined by what ifs and hypothetical scenarios.

Questions concerning what might have happened under alternative circumstances run rife in the media, ranging from debates over individual fixtures to long-term themes concerning significant periods in the history of a club and how they could have been moulded differently.

Before Pep Guardiola moved to Manchester City, discussion over a potential move to Manchester United bubbled beneath the surface.

In 2015, the Daily Telegraph reported that, according to Sir Alex Ferguson's book, it was Guardiola and not David Moyes who was his first choice to replace him in the manager's hotseat.

With that in mind, Football FanCast have been discussing how the City boss would line-up for tonight's Manchester derby if he was indeed sitting in the home dugout, and we've come up with a potential starting XI.

The major change to the system sees Alexis Sanchez step into the starting XI in place of Anthony Martial. While Sanchez doesn't merit his place on current form, there is no doubt his career would have followed a dramatically different path under the Spaniard.

After all, the pair previously worked together at Barcelona and City's well documented transfer pursuit of the Chilean suggests the widely revered manager is a huge fan.

And, considering the electric blend of defensive work-rate and frightening dynamism he can provide at full tilt, he would be a fantastic asset to have to tackle the title-chasing visitors.

The other major change would see Juan Mata slot into central midfield, where he would operate in a similar role to the one which David Silva is regularly deployed in.

The back five rather chooses itself, with Guardiola's preference for younger, more energetic full-backs leaving Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia on the substitutes bench.

Nemanja Matic would operate in the Fernandinho/Busquets role to allow the full-backs, Paul Pogba and Mata to roam forward at will.