Manchester City have dominated Manchester United in the Pep Guardiola era - but not as much as they should have done.
Lengthening a streak that the Blues began when Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, they have now finished ahead of their rivals in each of their last eight years. With 19 points currently the difference between the sides, the chances of making it nine are highly likely.
Despite the clear gulf in class between the teams, City have - to the frustration of the players and fans - not been able to make it clear when the derby comes around. In just one of the three Premier League titles Guardiola has won has his team done the double over United, and they have lost their last three meetings at the Etihad and four out of the last five.
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In a sense, that shouldn't be too surprising. United possess quality players and, just like Spurs, are both well-equipped to exploit City weaknesses on an off-day and enjoy causing an upset. However, the clear disparity between the two teams over 38 games - 9, 19, 32, 15, 12 and 19 points to date - has made it bizarre that City have encountered so much trouble when they have played each other.
Ralf Rangnick was certainly under no illusions when he became interim manager at Old Trafford following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. "To say I will challenge the top Premier League managers in the next few weeks or months, is not realistic," he said after surveying footage of United's bruising hammerings against Liverpool and City at Old Trafford.
Three months into his project and while the defeats have dried up, there are very few positives to have emerged under Rangnick. Handed an incredibly generous fixture list, the new coach has been unable to generate promising performances or genuine signs of progress with a squad that should have been challenging for the title along with City.
When he watches the best team he has come across since taking the job, it is up to City to show Rangnick just how far away his United side are from challenging the top of the league. Rather than giving the Reds a false dawn or three like they did for Solskjaer, Guardiola and his players must not let themselves be dragged down.
It would be important to fans no matter what, but unexpected defeat to Spurs in their last game at the Etihad has given Liverpool encouragement in the chase for the league title. Having kept their cool at Goodison last week and got away with one over the Rodri handball, the Blues cannot afford to squander their position with another weird wobble against a team that have shown they cannot compete with them.
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