Manchester City have bigger games than the Manchester derby if they are to defend their Premier League title, according to Joleon Lescott.
The fixture against Manchester United remains the biggest in the calendar for most Blues because of the rivalry between the two teams but United's fall in standards since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure means the games have taken on less importance in the Premier League and the Reds have won just two of the last 10 meetings at Old Trafford. A rejuvenated United under Erik ten Hag could move to within a point of City in the table with victory on Saturday, yet Pep Guardiola's team are still looking up to chase Arsenal down rather than worrying about who is behind them.
City need the win more if they are to press on for the title, yet their recent record gives them enough of an aura and respect that they are still seen as favourites for the title even when they are five points behind. With Arsenal still to play twice as they try to make up a five-point gap at the top, the clashes with the Gunners could well be more significant than Saturday's derby in deciding whether the trophy ends up in Manchester or London.
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"I think for the fans it is still in terms of pride but for the bigger picture the biggest game is the team that is most competitive in the league. It's definitely a game they will want to win in terms of what it means," said Lescott.
"I don't know if I'm speaking out of turn but if you asked the fans whether they would want to win the derby or the Arsenal game I don't know what they would say. The derby is hugely important for pride but I'm sure the game against the most competitive teams is probably the most important, whoever that may be.
"If City lose this game, I still believe people will rightly talk about them as potential champions. On the flip side, if United lose people will be quick to judge and say this is where they come short.
"It's a massive step in the direction they want to go in if they win, but I think they need to win in order to be contenders. I still don't think they will say they will be contenders, they might see where they are with 10 or 12 games to go but they will need the win more."
One man who can prove a few people wrong in this game is Erling Haaland. The Norway striker has 27 goals in all competitions including a stunning hat-trick in the 6-3 win at United back in October, yet recent stumbles from City with him in the team coupled with a barnstorming 4-0 win over Chelsea without him have caused some to question whether the striker has actually improved the team; former United defender Paul Parker this week claimed that City had "completely lost it" by 'putting all their eggs in the Haaland basket'.
United have a fine selection of centre-backs to frustrate Haaland, but as he has shown pretty much all season the 22-year-old is more than capable of coming out on top. As a former defender, Lescott does not see a way for anyone - particularly in this generation - to stop the prolific striker unless he is below his best.
"I thought he'd score goals but the amount he's scored in the time he's done it I didn't honestly see. The amount has surprised me, the frequency of him scoring goals," said Lescott.
"It's different now because with the greatest respect to the current era he is more difficult to defend now because he's one of a kind. But if you look at how he wants to score and the types of goals he scores there are multiple players that wanted to do those things- like [Didier] Drogba, [Thierry] Henry, [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy.
"They had the physical presence of scoring a variety of goals where there's probably not that [currently]. The types of goals that forwards score is similar, there is probably him and Harry Kane that have the largest variety, Lukaku was one as well.
"In terms of stopping him, my generation of player would have been more used to facing that variety of player so it would have been different and different for him, but I don't think you necessarily stop those players. If you are world class, people don't stop you - you just have off days."
City come into the game needing to bounce back from a dismal night at Southampton at Wednesday that saw them dumped out of the league cup with a limp performance. Individual errors littered the defeat and five substitutions by the hour-mark could not reverse a display that Guardiola savaged by saying his players were not ready for the game.
However, they have picked up some big wins this season against the best sides and their recent double over Chelsea was a reminder of what they are capable of. An emphatic three points in the derby would be another sign that it would be foolish to think of anyone else as favourites yet.
"Even though one was in the cup, performances against the top teams emphasise how good they are," the former City defender said. "We take the results against 'smaller teams' for granted but when they perform like they did against Chelsea it reminds them that if people try to go toe-to-toe with them and they are anywhere near their best they are unmatched.
"The two Chelsea games have been huge for them for the perception of how they are seen in the league. The games are coming now to the business end of the season and winning breeds confidence.
"You can only gain more confidence when you beat the teams who are competing for the same trophies. There will be confidence in the City camp but it would highlight how dominant they can be against top teams rather than just winning."
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