Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must focus on fixing their own problems ahead of the derby rather than thinking about Manchester City’s miserable recent form.
All eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Ruben Amorim looks for a statement result in his first taste of the all-Manchester clash.
The Portuguese has already masterminded a victory against City in the last six weeks after Sporting Lisbon sealed a stunning 4-1 Champions League triumph in his penultimate match before joining United.
It is among seven defeats Pep Guardiola’s stumbling side have suffered in a 10-game run that has seen just one win, but Fernandes brushed aside the suggestion that this is a good time to be facing them.
“It doesn’t change anything for us, how they are in this moment, because we have to think about ourselves,” the United skipper said.
“We all know that this is a huge game and they have huge players. They’re probably not winning as much as everyone would expect them to do.
“But we have to focus on ourselves because we’re not being at the level we want to be also, so we can’t think about the momentum of the others.
“We just have to think about ourselves and do the job we have to do to get in better positions and we need points in the league, so it doesn’t matter who we play against.
“We know it’s City, a huge derby. We know what it means for the fans and it means a lot for us too, so we just have to go to the game and win without thinking who we have ahead.”
United make the trip to City buoyed by Thursday’s 2-1 comeback win at Viktoria Plzen, where substitute Rasmus Hojlund’s double sealed a much-needed Europa League victory.
Pitchside in Plzen 🤳
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 13, 2024
Rasmus's late winner looks even better up close 👌#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/2yecNjjJDO
Amorim’s changes helped overcome a poor start in the Czech Republic but a giant step-up is needed if United are to seal a first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2021.
“It’s not to get the results at the Etihad, it is to try to win games,” Fernandes said. “That’s what we want to improve.
“Obviously we play City and we want to win the game and it doesn’t matter if it was another game, we will try to win in the same way. We know, as I said, they have great players.
“It doesn’t matter the momentum they are in. We have to think about ourselves, what we can do to hurt them to win the game, and that’s all.”
Fernandes says beating City “wouldn’t change anything” at United beyond securing a much-needed three points as they seek to climb the standings.
How will Sunday's edition of the Manchester derby end? pic.twitter.com/SOjEJKsJz5
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 11, 2024
Amorim’s men enter the weekend 13th in the Premier League and are looking to avoid a third straight top-flight defeat after the 2-0 reverse at Arsenal was followed by a 3-2 home loss to Nottingham Forest.
“You always make progress and then you can watch that on the results,” Fernandes said.
“Obviously we want to get results and I think for the outside world, the results are the ones that show that if you improve or not.
“But we have to think about what we want to do as a team, what we want to have as a system, the impact that we want to have in games, the way we want to play, and that has to be the main thing in our minds and obviously you play for a club that has to win every game.”
