Pep Guardiola sets mentality challenge for Man City players vs Manchester United

02.10.2022 - 09:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Manchester City players must ignore any outside noise and focus on their individual roles in Sunday's derby with Manchester United.

That is the message from Pep Guardiola, who has instructed his squad to treat the derby like any other game. City are unbeaten this season, although this is their first test against a 'Big Six' rival, with United looking dangerous under Erik ten Hag having already beaten Liverpool and Premier League leaders Arsenal this season.

With a new face in charge at United, and plenty of new players at Old Trafford, plus some new signings for City like Erling Haaland, there is a lot of excitement around Manchester going into Sunday's clash. Guardiola, though, has urged his side to ignore it all and stay calm.

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Discussing his expectations for the derby, Guardiola said: "The way we are playing, they increase the rhythm in many aspects. You have to challenge the duels, avoid playing quick in a smart way and try to punish them in the way we can do.

"My experience of United derbies always have been so calm, go to the stadium Old Trafford or here the fans boo, 'who you are, who you are'. No, sorry, 'who are ya!' The rest is a football game. I love in that way, managers love England for that. The passion, the winner laughs and take the p*** out of the loser. It's part of the game, it's nice, it has to be like that but no more than that.

"We work here in this magnificent weather in Manchester perfectly. No external pressure. This is my feeling, maybe because in Spain it is completely different."

Guardiola also touched upon the fact that players like Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who are both City fans, could help explain the significance