PEP GUARDIOLA says he has a “ridiculous” idea on how he can beat Erik ten Hag in Saturday’s Manchester Derby.
Title-chasing Manchester City will make the short trip to Old Trafford in desperate need of three points.
Guardiola’s men sit five points behind league leaders Arsenal, who take on Tottenham on Sunday.
The last time City met Manchester United, they ran out 6-3 winners at the Etihad, with Phil Foden and Erling Haaland netting hat-tricks.
But since then, United have been hard to beat, and they’ve won eight consecutive competitive games under Ten Hag heading into Saturday’s clash.
And for that reason, Guardiola has a “ridiculous” idea that he plans to use to beat United.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
He said: “I would like to arrive against United with the average of minutes in the legs of the players quite similar because I have a few ideas, thoughts, ridiculous ones against United.”
Guardiola coming up with “ridiculous” ideas that end up paying off come as no surprise these days.
The Spaniard effectively used a false-nine system at Barcelona, with Lionel Messi being his focal point.
He deployed such tactics last season when his City team were without a recognised striker, but that didn’t stop them from winning the league.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
Right-back Joao Cancelo has been played on the left side of the defence.
Again, it sounds rather bonkers but it has worked effectively for City in the past.
Sometimes Guardiola’s big ideas can blow up in his face, though.
In the Champions League 2020 quarter-final, Guardiola switched to a 3-5-2 formation to counter the speed of Lyon – a side that had beaten the Sky Blues in the group stage of the competition.
But City went on to lose the one-off game 3-1 with Moussa Dembele bagging a brace and Maxwel Cornet getting the other.
On a potential line-up, Guardiola said: “I don’t have a clear line-up against United.
“I didn’t watch their last games. I have to see the way they play at home and if they change something.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
