Ilkay Gundogan makes shocking Man United admission ahead of Manchester derby

Manchester City, according to Ilkay Gundogan, will face their toughest derby test in recent years on Saturday at Old Trafford.

Pep Guardiola’s champions are coming off a 2-0 EFL Cup defeat at the hands of Southampton on Wednesday. Since their 2-1 win over Liverpool on August 22, no team in the Premier League has won more points than United, who have 35 to move up to fourth place.

It’s a remarkable turnaround considering United were at the bottom of the Premier League after two games, suffering humiliating defeats at the hands of Brighton and Brentford. Midfielder Gundogan has praised Erik ten Hag’s transformation of Manchester United in his first season, and believes City must up their game if they are to win.

“United are in a very good moment right now, full of confidence, hungry, and determined to win,” Gundogan said. “They recruited some really good players in the summer and sometimes it takes time.

It appears that things are starting to click between them, so it will be a very difficult game – probably the most difficult game in the Manchester derby for us in recent years. Going to Old Trafford is always special; it will be extremely difficult, and we will need to perform much better.

“But we’re quite certain. Our team is loaded with talent. I know what we’re capable of on the pitch, and we all do. It’s simply a matter of having the right attitude and being prepared to face any challenge.

“Right now, I’m confident, even though I’m still frustrated, sad and disappointed from this game [Southampton]. “I’m confident we’ll show a different phase in the derby on Saturday.”

“Very disappointing,” Gundogan said of the Saints defeat. We knew this was going to be a difficult team to play against. They played very well, and in the end, we just weren’t good enough. We put in a poor defensive and offensive performance. We had no right to win.

“It takes a lot of effort, dedication, and commitment, and it wasn’t enough. It’s probably more disappointing if you’re used to great performances from the side.

“Sometimes you probably need games like that – obviously it’s very frustrating and hard to take, but maybe it was a good level for us to get back to the efforts that have led us to success in recent years. It was simply not enough from each and every one of us. We missed a lot of easy passes and lost a lot of easy balls.”