Jose Mourinho reveals tactics for the game against Manchester City and speaks out on special derby

Manchester United will be hoping to continue their recent success when they take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Sunday. The Red Devils are unbeaten in four Premier League games. Pep Guardiola’s men are top of the table and unbeaten in the league all season. Romelu Lukaku could return to the Manchester United squad for Sunday’s derby. The Belgium international has missed the last two games, but trained today and will be assessed tomorrow ahead of Sunday. Ahead of the game Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho has faced the press. Mourinho was asked about the FFP allegations facing City. It’s difficult for me to answer because I focus on my job. I focus on the four lines, focus on football, so if you want to speak about their football potential we can speak, and football potential starts with investment. After that, of course, there is a quality of the work, of the organisation, I think that is untouchable. But what is behind, I cannot say. But in this moment I have only to think about football, and to think about football is to think about Manchester City as a football team there. Asked if United, who have won their last three games with a more attacking approach, will go toe-to-toe with City on Sunday Mourinho said: We are going to try. I cannot say we are going to be successful in our motivations, in our desire, but we played two difficult matches away against two very good teams, Chelsea and Juventus, and we managed to get good results. Even if the good results were not in our pockets, the performances were there, the positive attitude was there, so we are going to try but City are a very powerful team. If we draw the gap is still nine points, if we lose it’s 12, so I don’t think that is the way to look at the match. We have to just think about the match, is difficult enough as an isolated event, if you want to put that match into the context of where we are and where we can be. I want to play it as an isolated match, a difficult match against a difficult team, but they will also think it’s a difficult match for them. Manchester United boss is happy with reinforcements. I said in the home game against Juventus that I didn’t make any change because there we no [experienced] attacking players on the bench. It was really difficult with no Alexis [Sanchez], no [Marouane] Fellaini. Everybody was playing and I had no changes to do. A rich bench normally means points and, against Juventus, we had the bench that could help us change the game. The Special one has spoken out on “SPECIAL” derby. I don’t think [Sunday’s game] is special because of what happened last season. It’s special because it is a Manchester derby and it means what it means. In the end, he hailed frightening spirit. We are a not a team that gives up. We are a team that always finds a way to fight back. Sometimes changing results, sometimes not. But we are a team that has a collective spirit to fight back.

Jose Mourinho delivers Romelu Lukaku injury update ahead of Manchester City clash