Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford bring local flavour to truly global derby

At the Etihad on Sunday there will be players from all corners of the globe primed for battle. From Norway to Argentina – and plenty in between – internationals will don the blue and red of Manchester’s two teams to earn the much sought after bragging rights.

Ask Pep Guardiola and he will tell you it is another game, one professionals will be fully prepared for. Keeping cool heads and focusing on the job in hand over 90 minutes is at the top of the agenda for those trained to execute a plan. Derbies, however, do have an edge, even if managers want to play down the difference history makes to them. For the fans, the result will define their week before it has even started.

Among City’s ranks is a born and bred blue, Phil Foden, who certainly knows how important this fixture is. United boast Marcus Rashford, another brought up in Manchester but in the red half. Their addition to the derby melting pot is a vital one, players that can still be seen as representative of those in the stands.

Guardiola says of Foden: “Of course it’s nice that he is a City fan and it’s important, not just for the game but for the day before and the day after they have to behave like a Manchester City player.

“What Foden has to do is play the game; focus on what you have to do on the pitch, this is what you have to do, all the work you have to do. Just to be a Manchester City fan does not mean he will play good or bad, nobody knows, of course he wants to play good. But, for him, if he can beat United or win the Premier League, he’s won already a few at this early age, this is the important thing.”

Premier League games are watched around the world by many millions but at the heart they are local rivalries, grown organically down the years and