Antonio Conte has given Manchester United the blueprint to defeat Pep Guardiola and Man City

Manchester United will have a tough task on their hands against Premier League leaders City in the 187th Manchester derby.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had an impressive record against Pep Guardiola despite his other shortcomings as a manager but in their last clash in the first half of this season, City completely dominated United at Old Trafford and beat them 2-0, although it could have been quite easily more.

Some United fans referred to the game as a training session for City and it was one of the results that contributed to Solskjaer's eventual departure. It was the game where many supporters lost faith in our Norwegian hero.

How does Ralf Rangnick take a team that was completely dismantled by City last time around, which has some of the same glaring issues remaining, and secure a result at their home ground?

The answer may have been given to Rangnick by Antonio Conte.

Conte's Tottenham beat City 3-2 11 days ago in a result that nobody was expecting. It owed much to a world-class performance from Harry Kane, but the defensive performance from the Italian's side was also admirable.

If not for a mistake from Hugo Lloris, Spurs would have likely only conceded a single goal. There are certainly lessons from their performance for United to learn.

Conte's team defended in a low block and formed very tight lines that often operated in Spurs' own box. By deploying this tactic, City were forced wide and, with no clear passing routes to break through the lines, Guardiola's side resorted to repeatedly firing crosses into the box and feeding off second balls.

And United could also take Conte's formation as well to help in this endeavour.

The 3-5-2 or the 3-4-3 would solve United's issue of not having a dedicated number six who can play