Kevin De Bruyne Talks Manchester Derby Tactics, Vincent Kompany, Chelsea, More

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne believes his side will succeed in the Manchester Derby on Sunday—even if Manchester United double-up on him at Old Trafford.

According the Mirror's Dave Kidd, he said:

"

If United put maybe two people on me, then that means someone else has more space. 

I think we have such a great team that on these levels it is very difficult to put two people on one guy in the very big games. If they do that someone else will be free and will have more chances to do something for us.

"

United may well opt to do in that in order to try and snuff out the Belgian's immense creativity, particularly with Sergio Aguero and David Silva among those set to miss the clash, per City's official Twitter feed.

Their absences ensure the Sky Blues will primarily play through De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling as their chief creators.

According to Squawka, the 24-year-old has created 15 chances in five Premier League appearances this season, and it has also shared his impressive goal and assist contributions on Twitter:

As De Bruyne realises, his form—coupled with Sterling's promising start to life at City—gives United a difficult task as to concentrate on marking one could free up the other, not to mention the likes of Wilfried Bony or Yaya Toure.

In order to try and counteract City and control the game, United boss Louis van Gaal may have to opt for three central midfielders, most likely Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and one of Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini.

De Bruyne also commented on captain Vincent Kompany, who was named among the substitutes in City's last two matches:

"Vinny will play his games. Maybe he will be there on Sunday, I don’t know. Maybe the manager wants him to train a little bit to be fully fit without any risks. I don’t see any problems between them. He is acting normal so everything is fine."

Jon Super/Associated Press

Kompany will be vital to City's efforts, as football injury analyst Ben Dinnery and writer Richard Jolly reveal:

Lastly, De Bruyne offered some encouraging words to former club Chelsea, who he believes cannot be ruled out of the title race just yet:

"A lot can happen. If we lose two or three games and Chelsea win, they are there. There is still a long hard season we just try and put pressure on everybody so they are not allowed to make mistakes."

The Blues are currently 10 points behind league leaders City, though with the season still in its relatively early stages and with the teams yet to face each other, Chelsea could indeed find themselves back among the title contenders if they can turn their form around.

City can take a big step in the title race on Sunday if they can overcome United, and with De Bruyne in such fine form, that step seems fairly likely.