Manchester City's Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester United EFL Cup clash like a final'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that his players need to treat this evening's EFL Cup fourth-round clash against Manchester United like a final.

The local rivals will go head to head at Old Trafford this evening for a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.

With games against West Bromwich Albion and Barcelona coming up in the next six days, Guardiola is expected to field a much-changed side from the one that recorded a 1-1 draw with Southampton at the weekend.

"I think everyone can believe this competition is not the big one but I am going to prepare to win the game," Sky Sports News quotes Guardiola as saying. "For the players who play, we'll be depending on them to make the best performance possible. It is a final.

"I don't understand my job if I play a game thinking another game is more important - this is the most important - but at the same time I have to consider how the condition of the players is. Three days after it is West Brom, then Barcelona, and they are so important as well."

The first league meeting between the two sides this season ended in a 2-1 victory for City.