Pep Guardiola's silence on Erik ten Hag speaks volumes ahead of Man City vs Manchester United derby

Pep Guardiola wasn't biting. He knew what was coming, and offered a straight, firm bat back down the track for a dot ball.

But even in saying nothing, he picked a side when invited to comment on Erik ten Hag's position at Manchester United.

Just 24 hours after Ten Hag came out fighting after a damaging defeat at the weekend and reports of his position not being as stable as he thought, Guardiola knows he is completely safe at Manchester City. And he used that security to choose his words carefully about his opposite number.

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Asked what he expected from United in the derby, he simply replied: "Always I expect the best from our opponents. Always. The best performance of them is what I expect."

Pushed a little further on his opinion of criticism of Ten Hag's philosophy, Guardiola went defensive again. "I understand your question but I don't talk about opponents," he explained. "I expect the best from United but I don't talk one word about what they do because I respect too much. I don't want my words to be misunderstood.

"When I have a comment, people always say 'Pep jibed' and it's never my intention. It's better not to say anything. I know them. I have a lot of respect for the institution, United, Erik, and the players and when I see what we have to do my players will know it."

Fair enough, you would think. But Guardiola often uses his Friday press conference to praise an opposition manager, or tell their club to give the manager time. In fact, that is exactly what he told United to do with Ten Hag back in October.

Guardiola has elaborated more