Pep Guardiola has backed Gabriel Jesus to deliver in Saturday's Manchester derby.
City are still without first-choice striker Sergio Aguero, who will miss the showdown with United at the Etihad Stadium.
But Guardiola is convinced Jesus, who scored twice in City's 4-1 win at Burnley , can be the answer to his prayers when the two local rivals meet.
“We need his goals, that’s why we won the last game,” said Guardiola.
“We need him and his goals. If he puts this idea in his head he can do it every game.
“Not just him, all the players, confidence has to be there in their heads, not because of good or bad performances, winning or losing games.
“There are some things that are undeniable - the mentality and how strong they are.
“He would not be here at the high level and playing if he didn’t have quality.
“They can control it, they don’t need the manager to speak to them, they have to believe they are good enough and show how good they are.
“If strikers score goals the confidence rises, if a keeper doesn’t concede goals, the confidence rises, it’s there.”
On United, Guardiola said: “I respect what they’ve done for English football, European, and world football. It’s always United.
“I’m not there to know [what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing].
“So it’s difficult to judge my colleagues, I’m manager of City and I think he’s an exceptional person, but I don’t know to be honest.
“Tomorrow it's 5.30pm and the players decide who's going to win.
“United have a huge history and their quality is always there, but we must try to beat them. I speak to my players to see how to beat them. I've been impressed [by United].”
