Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola concedes he is ‘surprised’ by his team’s dominance over rivals Manchester United in the last few years.
The Premier League champions go into Sunday’s clash on a high, after beating Aston Villa to win the Carabao Cup last week.
Guardiola has won six major trophies during his three-and-a-half-year tenure at the Etihad, while the Red devils have notched just one FA Cup and Europa League title during that period.
Speaking before the derby, the Spaniard coach said: ‘I never expected to have this gap between us and United in these three or four years.
‘I’ve no doubt about the quality of United and I appreciate the manager [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer], he represents them in an exceptional way.
‘United are working to improve and get closer to the people above them but Manchester City wants to improve also and the distance is what it is.’
The 49-year-old has a 100 per cent record at the theatre of dreams, but City have already lost two times to their rivals this campaign.
United have clawed their way back into the race for the top four after a bad start to the season.
Solskjaer conceded his team can put themselves in the driving seat for a Champions League spot if they get six points in their next two matches.
The Norwegian manager is expecting a classic, saying: ‘They [Manchester City] will feel confident. They have hit form, they are playing well.
‘Let’s hope it will be a 4-3, like we have seen before. There have been many classics. We will do what we can to make it a classic.’
