Man City boss Pep Guardiola praises four Manchester United players ahead of derby

Pep Guardiola has circled four Manchester United midfielders for praise ahead of Sunday’s derby.

The Manchester City boss says his side will have to play “a perfect game” this weekend if they are to come away with all three points. United will enter the contest having not played in the league for a month due to fixture postponements.

Erik ten Hag’s side are currently on a four-game winning run in the top-flight although find themselves five points adrift of City, who have played a game more. Many are backing the hosts to come away with all three points despite United’s uptick in form.

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A number of players have been instrumental in that turnaround following the opening losses to Brighton and Brentford. Marcus Rashford has scored three goals in his last four games, all against Liverpool and Arsenal.

He returned to training this week following injury, as did Anthony Martial who has only enjoyed 45 minutes of action so far due to hamstring and Achilles setbacks. Fans have been impressed with summer signing Christian Eriksen, some branding him the team’s best player up to now.

Scott McTominay has also won around a number of supporters with his increased output during games which has kept the likes of Fred and Casemiro out of the starting XI. Guardiola pinpointed a number of these players when hailing United ’s forward play in Thursday’s press conference.

When asked if it is good to have high-performing club rivals, he answered: “When you are on top you have more rivals. In the middle you have less rivals. Big rivals make you better.

“We have to play a perfect game [on Sunday]. They have the qualities upfront, physicality