Pep Guardiola urges players not to get caught up in emotion of Manchester derby

Pep Guardiola’s side take on Manchester United this weekend (Mike Egerton/PA).

Pep Guardiola has stressed the importance of remaining calm ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby.

The Manchester City manager wants to take the emotion out of Sunday’s crunch Premier League visit of United.

The encounter marks the start of a critical month for champions City in their bid to win a fourth successive title, with games against rivals Liverpool and Arsenal to follow.

City have held the upper hand over United in recent years, and the form of the Old Trafford side this season has been patchy, but Guardiola is well aware of the pitfalls of this fixture.

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Guardiola said: “There have been good seasons (for United). With Jose Mourinho for one season and Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) they finished second, fighting – not until the end – but they were (up) there.

“What I learn from my experience in these types of games is to be more calm, relax, don’t talk about many things, just focus on tactics and what you have to do to beat them, not about emotions – because emotions will be there, without doubt.

“That is why we relax and prepare for the game as best as possible, knowing the quality.

“For United to go to Wolves and beat them and Luton, and have the quality to beat Aston Villa a few weeks ago, so they have incredible quality.

“From one action, they create something special in set-pieces, transitions, and in open play. They have connections with players and they score goals. It always has been that way with United.

“When they play good, they