Guardiola has 'ridiculous' plans to tackle Manchester United

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he has "ridiculous" plans to take on Manchester United in the upcoming derby clash at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Since taking over from Manuel Pellegrini in 2016, Guardiola has won nine of the team's last 17 encounters with United while losing six.

Erik ten Hag is the fourth United coach Guardiola has faced during his tenure at City so far. All of them have been defeated by Guardiola, most recently the Dutchman in an impressive 6-3 win at Etihad Stadium in October.

However, since then, United has only lost seven points in 10 Premier League contests, and their current winning streak of four games is their best since March 2021.

"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," the Spaniard said.

With four points more than their arch-rivals, who are in fourth place, City enters the game in second place in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the former Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona coach stated he didn't have any proper thought of the playing eleven against the Red Devils.

"I don't have a clear line-up against United. I didn't watch their last games. I have to see the way they play at home and if they change something," he said.

Given that Erling Haaland and De Bruyne did not participate in the FA Cup victory over Chelsea, Guardiola indicated that none of the two will start against Southampton.

"The players have played a lot of games in the last years. With Kevin not playing for four or five days — will he lose something? I don't think so," he said.

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