Louis van Gaal is confident about Manchester United's chances against Manchester City on Sunday, and says the Premier League clash is the biggest club derby of his managerial career.
City have won five of their last six league meetings with United, but the English champions have struggled across three competitions of late.
A 2-2 draw with CSKA Moscow sees their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance, while defeats in the Premier League and Capital One Cup to West Ham and Newcastle respectively have dented the team's "trust" in their own ability, according to boss Manuel Pellegrini.
United are without the injured Radamel Falcao for Sunday's trip to the Etihad Stadium, though Van Gaal -- who will welcome captain Wayne Rooney back into his starting XI -- says his side can cause their fierce rivals more pain.
"It is not the greatest moment of Manchester City,'' he told Friday's pregame news conference. "What we have seen of Manchester City in the last matches was not so good. We have a good feeling about this match."
It will be the first time Van Gaal has been in the dugout for a Manchester derby and the Dutchman could field up to five derby debutants for the hotly-contested clash.
The coach admits he has yet to experience a derby atmosphere quite like Sunday's at club level, saying: "It is difficult because in Spain, [Barcelona] had only a derby against Espanyol. In the Netherlands we had hardly a derby, or you have to call Ajax and Feyenoord. [At Bayern Munich], we don't have a derby because 1860 Munich weren't a first division club. I think this is the biggest derby that I shall manage."
However, Van Gaal is sure both he and his players will all understand what the fixture means to the club after a pep talk from assistant manager Ryan Giggs this week.
"Ryan Giggs presented the analysis of Manchester City, and I felt more tension [about the derby] with him. It was good to see that,'' Van Gaal said. "He knows it. He has the experience as a player and now maybe as an assistant manager.''
Tensions have run high in the build up to the clash but Van Gaal insists his players must not be overcome by emotion on Sunday afternoon, adding: "We don't have to accelerate this feeling because it is football and you have to play the game, not only a game with emotion but also in a tactical way.
"For me, I have to analyse and prepare for the games in the same manner [as the other matches]."
Information from the Press Association was used for this report.