City need 'important' derby win against United, says Navas

City, who were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the Cup tie, are at fourth in the table with United just one point behind in fifth ahead of Thursday's match.

(Reuters)

"Now we need to stand back up and keep going. It's very important for the players as well as the fans," Navas told the British media.

"There is a lot at stake so we need to focus and try to get the three points to make our fans happy."

After the United match, City do not face a top six side in their remaining five league games.

"We need to focus on... and think about the next game. We have to keep playing until the end of the season, and our goal is to end up in the top four and make the next Champions League," Navas said.

In the last five Manchester league derbies, both teams have won and lost two games each while a 2015 match at Old Trafford ended in a goalless draw.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)