Manchester United defender Rafael has declared that the pain of being pipped to last season's title will fuel them in Sunday's derby.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side were edged out by Manchester City, who won the Premier League in the last minute of a dramatic season.

Rafael believes that his teammates are driven by fear of failure and will give everything to win at the Etihad this weekend.

He told reporters: "The derby is a big game and it is getting more and more important each season. It is a very big game for us.

"We are really determined to make up for losing the title to them last season. The way we lost it made it even harder to accept and this season we are determined to win the title back.

"I will never forget how I felt that night, after we had lost it, and that will give us more motivation, definitely. We just looked at each other and said, 'How did we lose it by a few goals?' It was hard to take. It took ages to get over it and the pain is still there."

United are three points clear of City at the top of the table ahead of their first meeting of the season.