The highly anticipated Manchester derby is finally underway as United take on City at Old Trafford in a crucial clash that will determine the third and fourth places in the Premier League.
After dominating their rivals City for a very long time, United's recent record against their neighbours has not been that great, with the Red Devils winning three and losing seven of their last ten fixtures against the Citizens.
Earlier this season, the Red Devils suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat against their City rivals, with Chris Smalling getting sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the 39th minute.
However, owing to their good form of late, United are in a position to finally beat their neighbours, having registered successive wins in their last five fixtures.
City, on the other hand, have been very disappointing of late, recording three defeats in their last six fixtures.
Due to this reason, the Red Devils are expected to beat City on Sunday, but United defender Phil Jones insists that his side cannot afford to take the Citizens lightly on Sunday despite their below par performances of late.
"I don't think it [City's recent form] matters one bit when you look at the quality of their players and what they can do," the defender told MUTV. "We'll study what they've done in the last few weeks, but the main focus has to be on us and how we're going to go about trying to win the match."
United have done well against the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool of late, but Jones, despite admitting that his side's performances against these two sides were excellent, insists that his side needs to continue doing well in their remaining fixtures.
"Our performances against Spurs and Liverpool were probably our best all season. But it's no good beating teams like that if you can't carry on and keep putting in good performances. We know we need to keep doing that."
Meanwhile, City will also be keen on beating their arch rivals even though they have been struggling of late.
After doing very well to go on level points with leaders Chelsea in January, the defending English champions' hopes of retaining the title have been crushed following their recent string of poor performances.
The Citizens have stumbled to three defeats in their last five Premier League fixtures and have dropped to fourth place in the standings behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
The clash against Manchester United is a must-win game for them as a defeat will see them fall four points behind the Red Devils and twelve points behind leaders Chelsea (if the Blues manage to beat QPR on Sunday).
However, City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists that he is under no extra pressure ahead of this clash.
"For me the pressure is always the same," the Chilean told The Independent. "The pressure is to win the challenge I have with this club and with this moment."
"Maybe last year the pressure was to win the Premier League and we won two titles (including the League Cup). I know that in this career you must live in the moment. The past is not so important; it is about the present. The pressure for a manager of a big team is always the same."
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Young, Rooney
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Nasri, Fernandinho, Toure, Milner, Silva, Ague
Where to Watch Live
The EPL match is scheduled for 4.00 pm BST (8:30 pm IST, 11.00 am EDT), starting with live coverage in India on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports 4 HD in India. The game can also be watched via live streaming online in India on StarSports.com.
Catch the action live in UK live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD. Viewers can also watch the game online via live streaming on Sky GO. Catch the game live in the US on NBCSN; the action can also be live streamed online on NBC Sports Extra.
Audiences in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the game via live streaming online on Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa viewers can do the same on SuperSport online. Australia viewers can watch the game on Fox Sports and live stream it on Fox Sports On Demand.
