Tight Premier League title race means Pep Guardiola's Manchester City must overcome derby kryptonite

Manchester City have lost each of their last three games at the Etihad against Manchester United

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has completed the double over Manchester United just once since coming to the Premier League in 2016.

Guardiola's overall work has been brilliant and has helped City establish themselves as the most successful club in England since his arrival.

However, the record in the Manchester derbies does not entirely reflect City's overall dominance over United. Fans have been intrigued to watch Ole Gunnar Solskjaer get the better of Guardiola on several occasions.

On Sunday, Guardiola will be facing a new adversary, Ralf Rangnick. The German has been in charge at Old Trafford for three months. Like Guardiola himself, Rangnick is a football idealist. It poses for an intriguing tactical battle.

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A must-win game for Manchester City

Although the game is important for both teams, for City, the match could very well decide their title-challenge this season. Guardiola's men have a three-point lead at the top. With Liverpool hot on their heels, nothing but a win against United will suffice for City.

Although there are still more than 10 games left in the league this season, this big fixtures are often where teams drop points. The title race could go down the wire and a difference of a few points in this tie could decide the fate of the PL winner.

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City’s derby kryptonite

For all of Manchester City’s dominance over their neighbors, there is still a sense that the Cityzens are not always favorites in the derby, especially at the Etihad.

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last three visits to the Etihad in all competitions, having won against Guardiola’s side in each of those games.

While Manchester City are favorites ahead of this weekend’s clash, it could be déjà vu, especially with Ralf Rangnick’s side also desperate for the points to boost their top-four chances.

“It’s true we won a lot more there than here [at the Etihad against United], but [there is] no specific reason [for that],” Guardiola admitted ahead of the big game, as quoted by Mancity.com. “It’s happened, but in all the games we were proposing more [in attack] and we were punished on the counter-attack, which is their strength and their quality.”

He added:

“When they can run with Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Anthony] Elanga, [Marcus] Rashford, Jadon Sancho, they are unstoppable. They are faster, quicker and that's why we are going to defend for the first time deeper and use the counter-attack for 90 minutes.”

The derby has usually been Guardiola’s kryptonite but the Spaniard cannot afford to lose this one, especially with Liverpool closing in at the top.