City must produce flying finish to season, insists Guardiola
PEP Guardiola expects Manchester United to be on the front foot in tomorrow’s Old Trafford derby as he praised the job Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done.
United were criticised as a defensive team by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp earlier this season but Guardiola rejected that claim and said he has seen United take the attack to the opposition recently.
Manchester City will look to make it four away wins out of four in derbies this season, having already won the Carabao Cup fixture at Old Trafford, while United won the second leg of that tie and in the league at the Etihad.
Guardiola expects United to take the game to City and was impressed with their performance away to Everton last week.
“For me it doesn’t look like that,” he said when asked about Klopp’s claim that United were defensive.
“When I saw the last games they were incredibly aggressive and in Old Trafford that will happen. In some games they defend against us but what I saw in the last games, not just against us but against every team in the league, they were aggressive.
“At Goodison Park they played a good game.”
United are unbeaten in nine games heading into the derby, their longest run of the season, and Guardiola believes Solskjaer is beginning to get a good tune out of his side.
“I said the last time in the Carabao Cup that what I saw in the game the players follow him, the commitment, they are getting better, it’s their best moment of the season,” he said.
“Always I believe that United are a strong team and playing good, the game they play at home and lost, good 25 minutes, always have a great respect and good opinion of them.”
This derby is arguably more important to United, who are chasing a place in the top four, than it is to City, who are comfortable in second place, but Guardiola warned his players against complacency.
“When we believe it’s more important for them we are going to lose,” he said. “We have to have belief, it’s more important. I’ve never played a game thinking about points, the game is more comfortable or less, I never see the game schedule, the game we try to play and try to win.”
Kevin De Bruyne remains an injury doubt for the derby, although he is “getting better”.
The City playmaker missed the midweek FA Cup tie at Sheffield Wednesday after falling awkwardly on his shoulder in the latter stages of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley last weekend.
Guardiola says the 28-year-old has not yet been ruled out of tomorrow’s Old Trafford meeting.
Guardiola said: “He’s getting better. Today we didn’t train, tomorrow he will improve. I spoke with the physio this morning and he said he feels better. It’s not perfect but he’s better, so we’ll see.”
Guardiola’s side, champions for the past two seasons, are 22 points behind leaders Liverpool going into tomorrow’s game.
City have already won the Carabao Cup and remain in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Star winger Raheem Sterling admits the league campaign has been “disappointing”.
He said: “The Premier League, the bread and butter, fair play to Liverpool they have been better than everyone. We weren’t consistent enough for long enough.
“Now it is the business end and we have a lot to fight for. We are one trophy down and confident we can go to do major things.
“If you are not winning trophies you will finish the season very disappointed. Our motivation is to win every trophy. It could still be a successful season.”
• EVERTON striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has signed a new five-year contract.
The 22-year-old has scored 15 goals in 31 games this season, eight of which have come since Carlo Ancelotti — whose side travel to Chelsea tomorrow — took over in December.