Happy Manchester Derby weekend! Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho met the media a few hours ago to preview this weekend’s huge clash across town at Manchester City.
We have video of the entire media session for you here below via YouTube.
There were a whole host of topics covered in the Mourinho news conference, including the club’s current ambitions for the season, where they ultimately want to be, whether or not United (and the rest of the league) are operating on a fair playing field with City, Romelu Lukaku’s fitness and much much more:
Mourinho would not be drawn into a discussion on the allegations that City have skirted Financial Fair Play rules.
“It is difficult for me to answer because I focus on my job, I focus on the four lines, focus on football,” Mourinho said. “If you want to speak about their football potential, we can speak and football potential starts with investment.
“After that, of course, there is a quality of the work, of the organization. I think that is untouchable but what is behind (the scenes at the club) I cannot say.
United head into this one trailing City by nine points, and the result will obviously have tremendous consequence on United’s Premier League title ambitions this season. Mourinho refuses to interpret the outcome of the game in this manner however.
“In this moment I have only to think about football, and to think about football is to think about Manchester City as a football team,” he said.
“If we draw (the gap between the two teams) is nine points if we lose it is 12. I don’t think it is the way to look at the match,” the Portugese continued.
“We have to just think about the match, it is difficult enough by an isolated event. I want to play it as an isolated match. A difficult match against a difficult team but they think it is a difficult match for them.”
Manchester Derby FYIs
Starting XI Predictions: coming soon
Manager Press Conference Videos, Quotes: Pep Guardiola- go to this link
Kickoff: Sunday, November 11, 4 pm local, Etihad Stadium
Injury Report for Both Teams: go to this link
Odds via Odds Shark: United 5/1 Draw 3/1 City 53/20
Prediction: City 1, United 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.