Mourinho, Guardiola stay cordial ahead of Manchester derby

‘It’s not me against him, it’s Man United against Man City.

The battle ground will not only be having two teams from the same city converging at Old Trafford, but also two of the most talked about coaches in the world.

Mourinho’s constant jibes at Barcelona boss Guardiola during his time at Real Madrid undoubtedly got under the Spaniard’s skin, but the Portuguese coach’s record of just three wins in their 16 meetings is a significant blemish on his otherwise glittering CV. They have started the way we have started with nine points so they are doing very well and I think they will obviously be a force to be reckoned with this season.

“Yes it changes because it is more hard”, Mourinho said. “We have to try to be in every game what we are”. At this moment he doesn’t play.

“One thing if he decides to play with (Kelechi) Iheanacho, another thing if he decides to play with (Raheem) Sterling. “(But) we know they have so many options, so for (my) players is more hard. “They are what they are since I returned to England in 2013 – they are a title contender and you have to respect them that way”.

As noted by the Manchester Evening News, the Portuguese tactician was concerned over a number of key individuals, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and a trio of South American stars coming back from worldwide duty.

The duo featured for Argentina against Venezuela on Wednesday but took a convoluted route home, seemingly to Mourinho’s chagrin – especially as City duo Nicolas Otamendi and Pablo Zabaleta had direct flights back.

‘But Sergio and Marcos they went around the globe.

There are so many backstories ahead of the Manchester derby that we’re not quite sure what to do with ourselves. Maybe since the new owners arrived at Man City, it’s a very good squad, it’s a very good team.

Saturday’s game will be quite tight with both team scoring, but although I can see City putting United under pressure at times, the absence of Aguero will be the decisive factor and Mourinho’s team with their physicality and home advantage will just nick it 2-1.

Jose Mourinho can not wait to have his own pound of flesh against Pep Guardiola who has the upper hand in terms of victories in their previous meetings.

But despite the sub-plot of their history, Mourinho insists that the decisive factors will be the personnel on the pitch. He wanted to win, and I wanted to win.

Kevin De Bruyne discusses the impact the Manchester Derby has on both sets of supporters.

In a double boost, it appears Leroy Sane could also make his first appearance since joining from Schalke this summer after recovering from a hamstring injury which has kept him out of the first three games of the season.

“I’m not saying Micki is ready to play 90 minutes but he is ready to help us”, Mourinho told MUTV.