Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has insisted that the club have performed solidly during the opening games of the season.

United have won seven points from their first four fixtures, and after defeating Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, Carrick believes that the team will head into their match with Manchester City with plenty of confidence.

The 32-year-old the club's official website: "I don't think that we've played that badly so far this season. The Swansea game was a good game, the Chelsea one was tight, but Liverpool is always a bit of a one-off game which you can't really read too much into.

"We won at the weekend, and on Tuesday, we took it to another level and improved again.

"Hopefully we can do it again on Sunday. The performance will breed confidence, and we'll have to do it all again on Sunday."

Carrick has featured in all five of United's matches this season.