Wednesday 13 May 2020 16:38, UK
Jose Mourinho and Manchester United must do everything they can to avoid the "worst-case scenario" of allowing their rivals to clinch the Premier League title against them, says Jamie Redknapp in his latest column for Sky Sports.
Thierry Henry still winds me up about how much Arsenal celebrated when they won the title at White Hart Lane in 2004. I was playing for Tottenham that day, so I know what it feels like to watch your arch-rivals clinch the crown against you.
Arsenal loved celebrating in front of us and it will be the same for Manchester City if they win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Manchester United will not have to see it on their own turf, as we did, but it would still be embarrassing - especially for Jose Mourinho against Pep Guardiola.
There will be a bit of fear in that United side because it really is the worst-case scenario to get beaten and see your rivals celebrate. That's why I think they've got to treat it as a game they need to win. By sitting back against City, you are asking for trouble and it ends up being a slow death.
I think United need to get after them, just as Liverpool did on Wednesday. United can look at City now and know they are not invincible, but they need to make it uncomfortable for them and start as strongly as Liverpool did.
We all know that Mourinho likes to shut up shop and make his sides difficult to beat in away games like these, but against City, I think it's key not to give them time and space to play. United need to look at how Liverpool enjoyed success against them.
I think Marcus Rashford needs to play. He's got the pace to hurt City on the counter-attack and he's a player with a great record of scoring in big games. He's so important to the team.
From City's perspective, the game has become even bigger after what happened at Anfield in midweek. What kind of team does Guardiola play?
If they had got a good a good result against Liverpool, those players would have been feeling on top of the world, but now Guardiola has a dilemma on his hands.
Does he give key players a break and risk missing out on a title-clinching win against their rivals, or does he put out a strong team and try and build some momentum ahead of the second leg with Liverpool?
Personally, I think he has got to go strong. He has got to try and win the game and get everyone bouncing into Tuesday. Liverpool are obviously red-hot favourites to progress, but the tie is not over. It still feels like anything could happen.
City need to generate some momentum and there's no better way to do that than by winning the title at home to Manchester United. That would give them a massive feel-good factor.
Maybe Guardiola could bring in John Stones for Vincent Kompany and start with Bernardo Silva to give David Silva a rest, but he will be aware that this is a derby game - regardless of the circumstances.
He won't want to risk injuries, but he will want to beat his rivals and make sure his players are chomping at the bit for Tuesday night. A win tomorrow would get every City player going.
From my own experience, I know that United's players would just want to get off that field as soon as they possibly could.
