Manchester derby will not define City’s season-Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants to avoid a repeat of last season’s defeat against Manchester United when both clash on Sunday.

He has also said the derby will not define his team’s campaign.

City were in control against United in the corresponding fixture at the Etihad Stadium last term, leading by two first-half goals, only for United to stage a second-half rally and win 3-2.

“We have to play good,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday. “If we play good, we have a chance to win. You cannot imagine we are going to play amazingly for 90 minutes against top teams.

“I would like to play the same game as last season when we were on top for 75 minutes but United showed us that they just need 10 or 15 minutes to create chances.

“When they have the ball, they can create something because they have incredible talent.”

Both teams are in good form, with seventh-placed United on a three-game winning streak and league leaders City having gone 11 games unbeaten in all competitions.

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Guardiola is looking forward to the battle but believes the fixture has come too soon to have significant bearing on the title race.