Bruno Fernandes has warned that Manchester United must ignore Manchester City's recent slump and focus on their own problems if they want to 'hurt' their neighbors further in the 195th derby on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola's struggling side have lost seven of their last 10 games and won just once as they prepare to face 13th-placed United at the Etihad.
But Fernandes insists United must put City's miserable form out of their minds and address their own problems, while Ruben Amorim's side must avoid a third straight Premier League defeat.
“It doesn't change anything for us how they are at the moment because we have to think about ourselves,” the United captain said.
'We know it's City, a huge derby. We know what it means for the fans, and it means a lot for us too, so we just have to go to the game and win without thinking about who we have in front of us.
“We all know this is a huge game and they have huge players. They probably don't win as much as anyone would expect them to.
“But it doesn't matter what momentum they're in. We have to think about ourselves, what we can do to hurt them to win the game, and that's it.”
After United won the FA Cup in May by beating their neighbors at Wembley, City won the Community Shield in the summer on a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw.
But Fernandes is adamant United must treat the derby the same as any other match, adding: 'It's not to get the result at the Etihad, it's to try and win games. That is what we want to improve. It is clear that we are playing against City and we want to win the game. But it doesn't matter if it was a different game, we will try to win the same way.
'We have to focus on ourselves because we are not at the level we want to be, so we cannot think about the momentum of the others.
'We just have to think about ourselves and do the work we have to do to get into better positions. We need points in the league, so it doesn't matter who we play against.'
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