Manchester derby: Man United 'always a tough opponent', says Pep Guardiola

Treble winners travel to Old Trafford to face their rivals in the Premier League on Sunday

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is expecting a tough challenge from Manchester United in the derby. PA

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City will not be taking Manchester United lightly on Sunday, despite their rivals' struggling start to the season.

United enter the Manchester derby on a three-match winning run in all competitions – having lost six of their first 10 games – but none of the victories over Brentford, Sheffield United and Copenhagen were particularly convincing.

Scoring goals has been a particular problem, with new striker Rasmus Hojlund yet to find the net in the Premier League and Marcus Rashford looking a shadow of the player who scored 30 times last season.

However, City manager Guardiola is still wary of the individual quality United possess.

"United always have been, it doesn't matter the manager, always they are a tough opponent," he said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"The qualities of the individuals they have, the stadium, the character they have, the momentum. They can score goals, we know the quality they have. Always that has been and always it will be."

City returned to winning ways by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 last weekend after losing consecutive Premier League games for the first time since 2018.

Guardiola's men are looking to become the first side to win four consecutive English top-flight titles and remain well-placed, just two points behind surprise early leaders Tottenham.

The last time the two teams met, in June, City beat United to lift the FA Cup, completing the second leg of a treble.

Guardiola acknowledged there is far less on the line this weekend, but is keen to see how his side respond to the challenge posed by travelling to Old Trafford.

"It is a game not like an FA Cup final or last games of the season that defines winning or not the Premier League. Still we have only played nine fixtures and there are 87 points to play. We have to be focused," he said.

Young Boys v Man City player ratings

YOUNG BOYS PLAYER RATINGS: Made a mess of what should have been a simple save, and almost spilled Grealish’s effort into his net on the half-hour mark. Did well to stop Doku and Rodri’s effort on the stroke of halftime. Could do little to keep out any of the three goals. Reuters

Endured a difficult outing against the tricky Grealish. Struggled to cope with the Englishman all game but managed to send in a number of dangerous crosses into the Manchester City penalty area. Getty

Had the tough task of dealing with the pacy Doku, Garcia had his hands full but never shied away from his responsibility. PA

Got close to putting the home side ahead with an improvised flick in the 58th minute. Brilliant last-ditch tackle to stop Haaland from running through on goal on the hour mark. Guilty of giving away a penalty when he needlessly stepped on Rodri in the 65th minute. EPA

Made a crucial goalline clearance to deny City a goal in the 31st minute. Stayed close to Haaland for most of the game and did his best to thwart the Norwegian’s effort, but he fell short. Getty

Hardworking display from Ugrinic who tucked in and helped out Blum at right back. Tracked back well and stopped Alvarez from making it three with a last-ditch interception in the 78th minute. AP

Tasked with protecting the back four, Lauper failed to deal with the attacking runs of Rodri, and exposed his backline. Took too long on the ball when put through on goal and allowed Ake to make a brilliant tackle in the 36th minute. AFP

Grabbed the assist for the home side’s goal with a precise through ball to send Elia in on goal. Should have done better to close down Haaland in the build-up to City's third goal. EPA

Picked up the first yellow card of the game in the fourth minute. Stung Ederson’s palms with a fierce effort that almost wrong-footed the goalkeeper on the hour mark. Struggled to get past Ake on the few occasions he had a chance to have a go at the Dutch international. AFP

Brought the home side on level terms with a beautiful chipped effort to beat Ederson from the edge of the penalty area. Caused problems for right-back Lewis in the second half. AP

Did well to burst forward from the halfway line but could only manage a weak effort when he had a chance to test Ederson in the 28th minute. Had a number of half-chances in the second half, but he failed to take any. AFP

SUBS: (Itten, 73) Brought on to add fresh legs to the home side’s attack, Nsame failed to make the desired impact. Reuters

(Moteiro, 73) Sent in a number of dangerous crosses after coming, but they were well dealt with by the City backline. Tested Ederson with a cross in the 81st minute. Reuters

(Blum, 80) Faired better against the threat of Grealish after coming on. AFP

(Lauper, 80) Never stopped running after coming but failed to make much of an impact. AFP

(Garcia, 89) Came on too late to make an impact. Reuters

MANCHESTER CITY PLAYER RATINGS: Got caught in two minds for the home side’s equaliser in the 52nd minute. Forced into a strong save by Monteiro just after the hour. AFP

Gave Elia too much space in the build-up to the home side’s equaliser. Did well to skip past two yellow shirts and play Haaland through on goal in the 79th minute. Reuters

An assured display next to Dias in the middle of the City defence. Opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s side with a close-range finish in the 48th minute. AP

A leader at the back for Guardiola’s side. Hardly put a foot wrong. It was from his header, which came off the crossbar and into the path of Akanji, to put City in front. AFP

Utilised at left-back, Ake didn't do much in attack but looked solid in defence. Excellent recovery tackle to thwart Lauper, who was bearing down on Ederson’s goal in the 37th minute. Reuters

Tested Racioppi with a close-range shot on the stroke of halftime. Began the move that led to the opener with a clipped cross into the danger area for Dias. Won the penalty for Haaland to put the away side in front 67 minutes into the game. Assisted the third goal with a simple pass into Haaland in the penalty area. EPA

Kept things simple in the middle of the pitch and never tried to do too much. Getty

Almost caused a goal for the hosts with a wayward pass straight to a yellow shirt in the 23rd minute. Had a go from range in the second half, but his effort went high and wide. AP

Jeered for most of the game due to an early clash with Blum, Grealish looked lively but seemed to lack the ruthlessness needed in front of goal. Lovely disguised pass to find Doku in the penalty area 20 minutes into the game. Getty

Brilliant cross across the face of goal to tee up Kovacic in the 18th minute. Failed to beat Racioppi from point-blank range in the 25th minute. Forced Racioppi into a diving save in the 42nd minute. EPA

BERN, SWITZERLAND - OCTOBER 25: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring the team's second goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Champions League match between BSC Young Boys and Manchester City at Stadion Wankdorf on October 25, 2023 in Bern, Switzerland. (Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke / Getty Images)

SUBS: (Nunes, 72) Thought he had made it three minutes after coming on, but the goal was ruled out for a handball by Grealish in the build-up. Combined well with Haaland after coming on. AP

(Doku, 72) Went close with a left-footed curled effort that just went wide in the 83rd minute. AP

(Haaland, 90) Didn’t have much time to get into the game. Getty

(Rodri, 90) A classic case of winding the clock down, Phillips’ introduction helped City get the job over the line. Reuters

"It's too early. All the teams are there and the teams behind can be there. When you play just nine games many things will happen. We have been behind by a few points in February and March and then we were able to win.

"I want to see how is our mentality on Sunday in Old Trafford. We have won a lot. It's not about if we win now what is going to happen (in the future). I want to see the right mentality to play for these points."

United 'going in right direction'

Erik ten Hag, meanwhile is confident United are heading in the right direction and is sure the goals will come.

Despite their recent run of wins, United have lost two of their last three league games at Old Trafford and only beat Brentford thanks to stoppage-time goals from Scott McTominay.

"We are back where we wanted to be. This is a hard team to beat, they find a way to win. So we're going in the right direction," United manager Ten Hag said.

"We have a way to go, I see positives and I also see negatives. We are not consistently in positions at the level we can be where we show in games. We don't take benefit in the attacking transition moments."

Erik Ten Hag believes Manchester United have become a hard team to beat. EPA

United are eighth in the table and one of their biggest issues has been the lack of goals. They have scored only 11 in the league – the fewest by teams in the top half.

"At the moment, (we are) six points back (from City) so we have to catch up. We know we have to progress the team, to make developments. It has to do with the cooperation, the movement around it, we have to work on that," Ten Hag said.

"The cooperation has to click, but we showed this week some examples where there are so many overload positions and we don't net or don't even hit the target.

"We don't have time to train this, we give some coaching and I'm convinced with the quality from our players that they will go and score more goals."