'We have a lot of issues' - Ruben Amorim sends Manchester United warning ahead of Man City derby

Ruben Amorim has played down the suggestion Manchester United will face a vulnerable Man City side this weekend and insists his team have enough problems of their own heading into the first derby of the season.

United bounced back from successive defeats with a comeback victory over Viktoria Plzen on Thursday night, while City have won just once in their last ten matches, a run that has included six defeats.

One of those defeats came against Amorim when former side Sporting won 4-1 in the Champions League last month, though the new United head coach insists his side can't get complacent despite the form table.

"No, no, no. The great teams can respond in any moment," Amorim warned. "I think they are in a better place than us in type of understanding the game, the way they play, the confidence they have. Even in this kind of moments, we have a lot to focus on in our team. Of course, we have a strategy to try to win the game, with the strategy like it should be. But we are focused just on our team. We will face a great opponent and I’m more focused on our problem. We have a lot of issues here."

Despite their recent slump, Man City still head into the match eight points ahead of United in the Premier League and will be just as aware that a derby win could be a turning point in their season. Amorim is keen to treat his first Manchester derby just like any other match and hopes that in the years to come United's clashes with City have a lot more at stake than just three points.

He added: "I’m really focused on the details. I just want to improve the team so I cannot treat it like a normal derby. It should be like two great teams fighting for the title, and it is not that in this moment. So it is just one more game with a very good opponent. Both teams are struggling in the moment so I hope in future I can feel that real feeling of derby. But my goal now is to improve the team and win games – and we’ll try to win this game."