The Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has enlived the build-up to the Manchester derby at Eastlands by taunting City. "They always say they are a bigger club and they never beat us," he said.
His remarks came as the midfielder Paul Scholes said United were "desperate to stay above City". United are second in the Premier League, two points behind Chelsea. City are fourth, three points behind United.
"I can say it would be nice to beat Manchester City because it is a special game – it is the derby and everyone wants to win – but it is not the priority," Evra said. "The priority is to win the league but make sure we don't lose the derby."
Scholes said United would take great pleasure if City's wait for a trophy continued. A banner draped across the Stretford End at Old Trafford reminds City it has been 34 years since they last won silverware, and Scholes hopes the club that his manager Sir Alex Ferguson has derided as "noisy neighbours" will endure another unsuccessful season.
"We want to win trophies," Scholes said. "But we can't win everything and while we don't get the option of choosing who wins the others, there are some teams you would rather do it and others you would prefer not to. We are all desperate to stay above City. That goes for everyone. Even a 21-year-old newcomer to the club will feel the same way. We wouldn't like City to win anything in much the same way as they wouldn't want us to win anything else."
Scholes, who scored an injury-time winner the last time the two teams met, when United won 1-0 at Eastlands in April to dent their rivals hopes of finishing in the top four, acknowledged that expectations levels have changed at City and that the club are now a major force in the Premier League.
"Maybe City expect a bit more than they have done in the past and rightly so with the money they have spent and the players they have bought," he said.
"The fact is City are a top team. They have spent a lot of money on quality players and had a great start to the season. Maybe they have come unstuck a little bit lately but form does go out of the window on occasions such as this. Anything can happen on derby night."
