Kevin De Bruyne believes Manchester City must be wary of another counterattacking trap and a Champions League backlash from Manchester United in Saturday’s derby at Old Trafford (5.30pm).
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side beat their local rivals three times last season, albeit with City winning their Carabao Cup semi-final encounter on aggregate, and despite the wealth of forward options at their disposal De Bruyne is prepared for United to sit back once again.
The City playmaker said: “They have some new players and maybe they will play a bit more offensively but we will see. After five minutes you are going to know what is happening in the game. They played defensively and on the counter last season and picked us off really well. I remember the home game when we lost 1-2 but we made a couple of mistakes and it was difficult to come back. They won three out of four last year so we need to try and make that right.”
De Bruyne also expects United’s embarrassing exit from the Champions League group stage on Tuesday to prompt a reaction from Solskjær’s side in the derby.
“I don’t think the game is more important for them,” he added. “But we need to be careful because everything that has happened this week, it is a good game for them to change the switch.”
Pep Guardiola confirmed Sergio Agüero was not fit to start at Old Trafford. – Guardian
