Manchester derby spoiler

If they put all their effort into a Man United team determined to win to consolidate their second place in the group, Pep's team's chances of reaching the round of 4 strongest teams in Europe will be greatly reduced.

In theory, Man City, with a 16-point gap over MU in the last 7 matches, have the right to carry out a plan to rest their players to serve the "Liverpool mission". Needless to say, everyone knows that this season's Premier League championship has an owner, but the question is in which round will they win the championship.

Which problem?

Coach Guardiola is facing the question: "Should we focus on defeating MU to win the Premier League title right at the Etihad Stadium to boost morale when welcoming Liv in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals?"

Klopp is the one who ruined the Manchester derby. Photo: Internet

In terms of record, Man City have won 8 and lost 3 of their last 13 meetings with Man United. If they win this Saturday, they will force their rivals to witness the moment of being crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 4 years, a meaningful celebration right at the Etihad Stadium. If everything goes as planned, Man City fans and players will have a great motivation before playing against Liv.

Facing a derby, coaches will have different decisions and have to take responsibility for their decisions. Things are more difficult when Pep's opponent is coach Jurgen Klopp with 3 goals.

Remember that Liverpool are showing a completely different face in Europe, they have had their 10th win in 15 unbeaten matches at home in the European arena, continuing to be the most effective scoring team in the Champions League this season with 31 goals.

Klopp and his Liverpool players have made the derby more unpredictable than ever, with Man City fans hoping their beloved team will return to Europe as Premier League champions.

But many expert commentators think that it is an unnecessary risk. Guardiola should keep his key players to prepare for the return match with the "Red Brigade", a little delay in winning the title will not kill anyone. If he plays with all his might, he might "burn the rice and burn the popcorn" because after all, MU is not easy to bully!

remember toopast

The Manchester derby cannot be compared to the El Clasico matches between Barca and Real that Pep has witnessed. Speaking about this match, coach Guardiola assessed: "I am well aware of the special thing about a victory on Saturday, it is similar to Barcelona winning the title in Madrid or Real winning in Barca. This feeling is always very special."

But Pep understood better than anyone why he lost 0-3 to Liverpool. It was certainly due to risky personnel decisions and a lack of insight to save players for the Manchester derby.

Sterling will be rested for the derby. Photo: Internet

He surprised everyone by deciding to leave Sterling on the bench when Sergio Aguero was unable to play due to injury, leaving Man City lacking frontline firepower. Sterling is the team's second-best scorer, behind only the Argentine striker with 21 goals in 39 matches played.

It was even more confusing when Pep chose to add midfielder Gundogan to the field and promoted De Bruyne to replace Sterling in the Man City winger position. The decision to choose center-back Laporte to play in the left-back position while those more familiar with that position, Danilo and Fabian Delph, were completely healthy. Pep calculated that the most expensive player in the club's history could stop Mo Salah, but he was wrong.

Surely, Pep does not want to make another mistake of underestimating his opponent because Mourinho is not an amateur coach.

Mourinho may have lost to Pep all season, but in a particular match, the Portuguese coach knows his colleague's plans. MU will be determined to ruin the coronation ceremony at the Etihad Stadium and do not want their city rival to go deep into the Champions League.