Two losses in the first three league matches have put Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in an unfamiliar situation, putting them under pressure ahead of the derby against their local rivals.
Manchester United are themselves not in pristine shape, with a win, a loss and a draw in their three outings so far; the victory coming via an injury-time penalty conversion by talisman Bruno Fernandes against Burnley at home, which ensures that they go to the Etihad Stadium a point ahead of City.
Three back-to-back defeats would be a big setback for Guardiola, even at this early stage of the season, especially as the team they face was recently bumped out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby. He expressed confidence that his club’s fans will get a performance that turns around the narrative for the better.
“I am thinking about ourselves. We always have respect for our city rivals,” the Catalan told BBC Sport ahead of the derby. “We came back on Thursday (from the World Cup qualifiers) – players came back good – and I am looking forward to it for our fans. I know how important it is.”
“[It is] a really important game for us to change the dynamic and I trust the players a lot. We are going to do a good game.”
The disappointing start to the current campaign comes on the back of a season when Manchester City finished without a trophy for the first time in eight years. That prompted an overhaul with several experienced players like Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Ederson and Manuel Akanji. They also have quite a few players on the injury list, as they head into quite a significant week for them. The Manchester derby will be followed by the UEFA Champions League opener against Napoli – with De Bruyne in the opposition – on Thursday before a visit to fellow title aspirants Arsenal on Sunday.
Signing Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, however, does provide Guardiola with a proven winner fresh off the Treble last season. City have a surfeit of goalkeepers in their playing staff, but one of the Italian’s pedigree would be wasted if he isn’t used in the big games.
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“He is so tall; he is so huge,” Guardiola said about Donnarumma. “[From] all the keepers we want safe balls, give confidence to the team, have personality and a big presence.
“In the biggest stages in the Champions League last season, at Villa Park, Anfield and in many games, he proved how good he is.”
The goalkeeping position has been one of the problems for United as well and they signed Belgian Sanne Lammens on deadline day, but manager Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start in the derby.
