Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills believes his old club will have to be aware of the threat posed by five Manchester United players during Sunday's derby clash at the Etihad Stadium.
City and United will meet for the 187th competitive Manchester derby, each looking to secure a vital three points to achieve their goals this season. Pep Guardiola's side could find themselves just three points clear at the top come kick-off time, while United are battling for a top four finish.
The Blues, who ran out comfortable 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford back in November, are strong favourites to secure all three points and extend their winning run in league and cup to three games. United, however, have enjoyed plenty of success at the Etihad in recent years, winning their last three visits.
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With that in mind, United will fancy their chances of producing a surprise result to bolster their top-four hopes. And Mills believes big-game players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba, should they bring their A-game, could make life difficult for City.
"My head says that Manchester City should win this comfortably because of the way that they play, the way that they dominate the ball," Mills told Genting Casino. "But there is always an issue in that Manchester United have big-game players.
" Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo, obviously. Jadon Sancho could step up, Paul Pogba has done it before.
"These are all players that thrive on games at the highest level, and they will see this as one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game of the season for them, playing in the Manchester derby.
"Now if they all bring it, and they all turn up and put in a performance, it's going to be tough for Manchester City."
Despite being aware of the individual talent that United chief Ralf Rangnick has available to him in his squad, Mills believes City will prove to be too strong. Nevertheless, he has credited the quality within the Reds' ranks.
He added: "They could make it very, very difficult – this is what you don't know about Manchester United – they have fantastic individuals.
"And they have some big game players that probably prefer playing against Manchester City, Liverpool, rather than against Watford, Burnley and Norwich.
"I think Manchester United will bring it. It's whether enough of the players bring it on the day.
"I expect City to win 3-1 something like that, but the caveat to that is United have some very special, incredibly talented players, and if they turn up, they can easily turn Manchester City over."
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