Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Key Comments from Louis van Gaal Presser

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes rivals Manchester City are the favourites for the upcoming derby, as he told reporters during a pre-match press conference ahead of the fixture at Old Trafford.

Manchester Evenings News' Rob Dawson shared the full comment:

City and United will enter Sunday's derby sitting first and third in the Premier League standings, respectively, just two points apart. With Chelsea and Liverpool enduring a nightmare start to the season, the Red Devils and the Citizens already find themselves in the thick of the title race.

Despite that, Van Gaal seemed determined to deflect as much pressure as possible during Friday's presser, and the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst reminded fans of another manager who voiced similar comments:

He also noted a key difference:

Now in his second year as manager at Old Trafford, Van Gaal has already experienced how important the derby is to the people of Manchester.

But amid all the emotion, he has to keep his focus, via Metro's Chris Winterburn:

He expanded on the importance of the rivalry and how it's perceived where he lives, per Dawson:

Turning to the actual team information, the Dutchman confirmed he had to take the long trip to Moscow into account, and his players didn't train as hard as they normally would, per the club's official Twitter account.

Van Gaal also provided some injury insights, confirming Ashley Young's recovery is going well but that he won't be playing this weekend, via Luckhurst.

Asked whether a win over their rivals and the Premier League leaders would underline United's title credentials, Van Gaal thought the question wasn't important, per Winterburn:

Finally, he talked about how star players love to show what they can do on this kind of stage:

Sunday's match will be United's second chance to go head-to-head with a direct title competitor, and after the disappointing showing in the 3-0 defeat against Arsenal, more is expected from Van Gaal's men.

City have been in excellent form, winning their last two Premier League matches by a combined score of 11-2, but with Sergio Aguero and David Silva sidelined, and the defence looking shaky without an in-form Vincent Kompany, the chances should be there for United.

The derby may not mean much as far as the title race goes―there are far too many matches left for that―but a big win could provide the kind of momentum that launches a side heading toward the holiday period.

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