Fernandinho looking forward to "special" Manchester Derby, praises Pep Guardiola's changes

Fernandinho has always been a Manchester City fan favorite, but the Brazilian has been a Pep Guardiola favorite since the Catalan manager took over less than two months ago. Guardiola has praised Fernandinho for his work ethic and ability to play various positions, and the 31-year-old is an undisputed starter right now.

Guardiola's love for Fernandinho is reciprocated, since the player is also very impressed by what the manager is doing. To the outsiders like us, the changes in the style of play are already noticeable, and those changes are even more visible to the players.

“When he came to City the first thing he tried to change was the mentality of the team, of the players. He tried to put in our heads a winning mentality.

“To be a winner, we had to change a few things – the training sessions, games, a lot of things. We are trying to do that. Every single session, and every game, we try to be better but we are just at the beginning, just two months together.

We have seen some changes already, some positive things – we have won the last three games in the Premier League. This is important because at the end of the season we want to lift the trophy, so the start needs to be very, very good. I hope we can do this until the end of the season.”

But the first real test of Guardiola's City is still to come, and it will happen on Saturday when the Sky Blues visit Old Trafford for the Derby against Manchester United, a game Fernandinho clearly loves to be a part of.

“The Manchester derby is always special. And with the good players, the good managers, and all the fans and supporters are living this derby before the game.

“The city will be there and both teams are ready to play this derby. We are very concentrated, and prepared for this game – it's very, very important for us.

“It's going to be a special derby on Saturday.”

Source: ESPN Brasil via M.E.N.

If City are going to win this Saturday, you'd better be sure Fernandinho will be a big part of the victory. And he's clearly looking forward to making that happen.