Despite holding a 3-1 lead after the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Final, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is wary of the threat Manchester United possess.
The Citizens hold a two-goal advantage going into Wednesday night’s second leg, and Guardiola is keen to make sure his side don’t take their lead for granted.
He said: “It is Manchester United, they can do it and they have done it in the past, these kind of games against this kind of opposition who have incredible history behind them, they have pride and I know it will be difficult for us to reach the Final.
“My team have never been complacent in the four years that I have been here, we will have to be careful because of their skill, be careful because of their counter-attack, as well as their set-pieces.
“We know how good they can be when we let them play, we will have to defend because they have nothing to lose, they have to attack.”
The two-goal cushion City possess will be a difficult one to overturn for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, but Guardiola insists that his players will be looking to score more goals in the tie.
He added: “We will have to control our emotions but I do not think it is the best way just to think about defending, we are only starting with a two-goal lead, so we must score goals.
“I have always shown respect, it does not matter what club I have been at, from the second team at Barcelona until I am sat here now.
“That’s how you win games, I made the selection at [Old Trafford] and I will make the selection again [on Wednesday], and I made a selection against Fulham [in the FA Cup] as well, so the respect is always there.”