Manchester United captain Patrice Evra is hoping that a quick start at Sunderland on Sunday can pile the pressure onto Manchester City.

The Red Devils are level on points with the table-topping Citizens, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side are eight goals worse off.

Therefore, United must claim a better result at the Stadium of Light than their rivals, who host Queens Park Rangers.

Both matches are kicking off simultaneously and Evra believes that news of an early goal for his team could disrupt City and force them into a mistake.

"We cannot think about what Manchester City are doing," said the Frenchman. "We just have to make sure we win.

"The Sunderland game isn't easy but if we score first then maybe the City fans in the stadium will start to get nervous.

"When you are nervous then you can rush things and you don't do things as well as you'd like."

Evra arrived at Old Trafford in 2006 and has won the Premier League title on four occasions.