Manchester United are gearing up to face Manchester City in, arguably, the closest Manchester derby in years as the two sides sit just four points of each other in the Premier League table.
This week’s round of fixtures will mark the halfway point of the Premier League season and victory over their rivals could see United kickstart a title charge.
Erik ten Hag’s men are on a stellar eight-game winning run and they will be aiming to make that double figures by the time they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal, the league leaders, next week.
Speaking ahead of this Saturday’s derby, stand-in captain Bruno Fernandes has delivered his pre-match thoughts, insisting United need to win every game they play.
“Obviously we want to win, apart from that [it being the derby], it doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past, today is a big game, a different game and it’s about what we can do today, what we can achieve today. What we want to achieve is a win, as we want to in every game,” Fernandes told BT Sport, via the official Manchester United website.
“It’s still the same responsibility, playing for this team, the demands are to be the same in every game, it doesn’t matter which type of game you play. You know the derby is always a different thing but the mindset is always the same for us. We need three points in every game we play.
“The team is always being confident. We have learned from our past so we just have to keep improving and keep doing the right things, the right mentality, the right focus, to achieve what we’ve been achieving in the last games, which is victories.”
SN’s verdict…
It was a long time ago since supporters were this optimistic going into a Manchester derby and that is down to Erik ten Hag’s incredible commitment to the cause.
The Dutchman has won 20 out of his first 27 games in charge of the club, boasting an unbelievable 74% win percentage – the highest in the club’s history by quite some distance.
Fernandes is one of the first players on the teamsheet this season and the Portuguese maestro will be hoping to mark Ten Hag’s first derby at home with another famous victory.
