Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has claimed that Manchester City are favourites to claim victory when the fierce rivals go head to head at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Just two points separate the sides in the Premier League table, meaning that United will go to the summit of the standings should they win this weekend.

Van Gaal, however, is playing down United's chances and while he believes that the 'favourite' tag is meaningless, he does think that City have the edge.

"You have to ask the fans, it's not so important who is the favourite," Van Gaal said in this afternoon's press conference. "When you look at the facts they are first and we are second or third, they are the favourite I think.

"For me it's not any issue. I have to do my work, you have to do work more rational and not emotional and for the fans it's very emotional. I live in a village and it's the talk of the town. We have to prepare our game, we have one day less so it is more difficult, do the meetings in a shorter time and we hope we can beat Manchester City."

In this fixture last season, United claimed the bragging rights with a 4-2 win over their rivals.