Manchester United are looking for a big result in the Manchester derby on Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes and co will be tasked with overcoming Manchester City in the 195th derby meeting between the two rivals.
It will be Ruben Amorim’s first derby since becoming Manchester United head coach, and he has a chance to make history by matching an incredible record set by Alan Pardew.
Pardew is currently the only manager to beat the reigning champions with two different teams in a single season. That is a feat that could be achieved by Amorim after his Sporting CP side beat City 4-1 in the Champions League.
Fernandes, however, knows how it feels to lose at the Etihad.
United haven’t won there since 2021 but City go into Sunday’s game after winning just 1 of their previous 10 matches across all competitions.
In the last meeting between the two rivals, Manchester United were crowned FA Cup champions after a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Bruno Fernandes sets an objective for Manchester United
Fernandes is one of United’s most influential players which is why he wears the captain’s armband.
Despite not registering a goal contribution in Thursday night’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen, the playmaker had one of his best games yet under Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese Magnifico will hope to build on his strong performance against Plzen when the Reds travel to the Etihad on Sunday.
However, Fernandes is looking at the bigger picture instead of just one game. The 30-year-old has stressed that United are not focusing on City’s poor form ahead of the match.
Speaking ahead of the derby, the midfielder stressed that he wants to see United winning football matches rather than a one-off game like the derby.
Fernandes told The United Stand: “It’s not to get the results at the Etihad, it is to try to win games. That’s what we want to improve.”
Fernandes ready for the Manchester derby
United aim to climb up the Premier League table – from 13th – but they need to win football matches to achieve that.
Now would be a good time to start a winning run, especially at the expense of City.
Fernandes noted the derby’s significance and vowed to be ready for Sunday’s 4:30 pm kick-off.
He added: “We know it’s City, a huge derby. We know what it means for the fans and it means a lot for us too, so we just have to go to the game and win without thinking who we have ahead.”
This is the one-step-at-a-time approach Amorim uses with fixtures. It is best to take each game at a time and to focus on the opponent at hand rather than looking down the schedule.
United could do with a momentum boost.
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