Pep Guardiola dismisses Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's claims over Man City tactical fouling

Pep Guardiola has dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's claim that Manchester City will use tactical fouling to prevent Manchester United from counter-attacking in Wednesday's crucial derby.

Guardiola's City need a win to go back above Liverpool in the Premier League title race, while United will be looking to reignite their hopes of top-four finish.

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Solskjaer said on Tuesday that United have to be "ready for their aggression because they will snap at your ankles and heels and kick you".

When informed of Solskajer's comments, Guardiola said: "Did he say that? With 75 per cent the average, or 65-70 per cent average of the ball, how do you do that?

"I never prepare a game in my 10 seasons as a manager thinking about these kind of things, never. And my players can talk better than me about that. The players who I had in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here.

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​​​​​​​"I'm concerned about many, many other things about the game we have to play to beat them than these kind of things. Tomorrow in the press conference after the game you can ask him (Solskjaer) again about that."

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City's possession-based style of football has seen them complete a Premier League-leading 23,839 passes this season, compared to United's 17,109 after 34 games.

United have committed 201 fouls, receiving 64 yellow cards, while City have been given only 38 cautions following 172 fouls.

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Guardiola suggested that Solskjaer's comments were designed to influence the way referee Andre Marriner officiates Wednesday's game, but the City boss didn't think the alleged tactic would be a success.

"That is the reason why, of course," Guardiola said of Solskjaer's motivation.

"I don't like it. Our team is not built… and created for that, not at all.

"Of course there is contact, of course there are fouls. That's why there are referees, to make a yellow card or red card or whatever they decide, but never, never, never I prepare a game… I want to do our game."

Ways to watch the Manchester derby

Wednesday night's game will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. You will be able to watch the build-up from 7pm on both channels. Kick off is at 8pm.

Sky Sports subscribers can stream the game via the Sky Sports app or the Sky Go app.

Non-subscribers can watch through NOW TV. A Sky Sports day pass is available for £8.99, a week pass for £14.99 or a month pass for £33.99. NOW TV can be streamed through a computer or apps.

• Watch on Sky Sports
• Create a Sky iD to watch highlights on the Sky Sports app and skysports.com
• Watch on NOW TV for £8.99

Watch Manchester United vs Manchester City on Wednesday from 7pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. See The Run In on Sky Sports with two football channels for the price of one.

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