Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claims he has conjured a 'ridiculous' plan to stop Manchester United

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that he has conjured a “ridiculous” plan to beat fierce rivals Manchester United in the upcoming derby.

Guardiola’s men have kept pace with Premier League leaders Arsenal in the title race this season, with City only five points adrift from the Gunners.

City will first take on Southampton in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening before facing United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United have momentum behind them and could damage City’s title challenge going into the derby, with the Red Devils keen to strengthen their place in the top four.

Erik ten Hag’s side are undefeated in their last six outings and have beaten Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth in the league since the World Cup.

United are also benefiting from the sensational goalscoring form of Marcus Rashford, who has now scored in his sixth consecutive match for his side.

Guardiola’s men ran riot against United last October in a thrilling 6-3 win, with Phil Foden and Erling Haaland both scoring hat-tricks during the contest at the Etihad.

However, the City head coach has now hinted that he could deploy some ridiculous ideas in a bid to beat Ten Hag’s in-form United side at Old Trafford.

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“I would like to arrive against United with the average of minutes in the legs of the players quite similar because I have a few ideas, thoughts, ridiculous ones against United,” he said.

Guardiola didn’t explicitly outline his so-called “ridiculous” plan for United, but he has been known to drastically shake up his tactics much to the surprise of fans.

The former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss used a 3-5-2 formation during City’s Champions League quarter-final clash against Lyon in 2020, only for his side to suffer a shock 3-1 defeat.

Guardiola remained tight-lipped on his starting XI for the hotly anticipated derby and hinted that he is going to keep a close eye on United to see if they change anything.

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“I don’t have a clear line-up against United,” he said.

“I didn’t watch their last games. I have to see the way they play at home and if they change something.”

Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Premier League, England, Football, Manchester United

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9