Pep Guardiola’s unbeatable foe gives Man City derby day food for thought against Ralf Rangnick

Manchester City will go into Sunday's derby against Manchester United with mixed emotions.

On the one hand, there are clearly a far superior team to United. The 2-0 win at Old Trafford four months ago was at times embarrassing to watch, such was City's dominance and United's inability to compete. Pep Guardiola should be confident his team can do the same again.

On the other, City's home record against their cross-town rivals in recent times is abysmal. United have won on their previous three trips to the Etihad Stadium, although Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer - the manager who somehow masterminded those wins - is now out of the picture.

His successor, Ralf Rangnick, could present a different but no-less potent threat to the Blues.

In the Premier League this season, City have failed to win six of their 27 games. They include two defeats to Tottenham, the 2-2 draw at Liverpool and the surprise 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace.

Southampton account for the other two games thanks to a goalless draw at the Etihad last September and a 1-1 draw at St Mary's in January.

Of all those teams, Southampton can argue to be the one that came closest to outplaying City. The 0-0 in Manchester saw the Saints stifle City's creative build-up in a way most teams can only dream of, cutting off the passing lanes from defensive to attack and forcing City into errors.

In the reverse fixture, some intense early pressure saw Southampton go ahead through a fine Kyle Walker-Peters striker, before defending compactly and making it hard for City to find a way through. An Aymeric Laporte header rescued a point.

The fact that Southampton played so well and neutralised City's attack in both games was no fluke; the carefully crafted tactics of coach Ralph Hasenhuttl