"Games are not decided on paper" - Ralf Rangnick believes City clash is the 'biggest challenge' for Manchester United so far

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has refused to accept defeat before his team take on Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Going into the Manchester derby, the two teams have had different campaigns this season. While City are challenging for the Champions League and leading the Premier League, United are barely clinging to a top-four spot.

The Cityzens have a plethora of stars who are in fine form at the moment. Nevertheless, Rangnick has refused to accept defeat before his players take the field.

“On paper, they seem to be favourites," he said. "But games are not decided on paper. They are decided on the pitch. I’m convinced we can win the game, that we can create moments where we create chances ourselves, but it’s highly important that we don’t let them dominate the game as they did in November (when City won 2-0).”

Rangnick took over as interim boss in December, and has managed to halt the frequency of defeats. However, the quality of the opposition has been modest thus far, as United are yet to play a top-six rival under the German manager.

Speaking about the big test coming up on Sunday at the Etihad, Rangnick said:

“For us, it’s confirming the development of the team in the last three months. We’ve been unbeaten for the last 11 games (in normal time); we haven’t lost a single away game since I arrived, but we know this will be the biggest challenge so far."

"We haven’t played against a team of that kind of quality. It’s about confirming (our) development on Sunday against one of the best teams in the world.”

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Manchester United are struggling in the Premier League this season

Manchester United signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho this summer. There was renewed optimism around the club that they would challenge for the Premier League title. However, things haven't panned out that way.

Their lack of cohesion on the field has left them red-faced several times. Defeats and unexpected draws mean they are currently 19 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Manchester United need to start their turnaround in fortunes by beating their local rivals on Sunday. They won 2-0 on their last league visit to the Etihad. However, a defeat at the Etihad and Arsenal's win at Watford will see the Gunners leapfrog United to fourth place in the league standings.