Pep Guardiola's respectful rivalry with Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is no secret.
The Manchester City boss holds the German tactician in extremely high regard, so much so that back in 2015 he named Tuchel and Antonio Conte as the two coaches with the most potential in football.
There have been some fierce battles between their sides over the years, the most high-profile being the 2021 Champions League final which saw Tuchel come out on top.
Guardiola has always been full of praise for fellow elite coaches, citing how they force him to improve and stay at the top. If Chelsea's 1-0 win over Malmo on Tuesday is anything to go by, then Tuchel may have done exactly that.
Speaking after his side's victory in Sweden, Tuchel was asked about his wingers switching flanks at half-time. He had set up his team with inverted wingers; the right-footed Callum Hudson-Odoi was on the left and the left-footed Hakim Ziyech on the right.
City set up in a similar way on Wednesday against Club Brugge, with Jack Grealish on the left flank and Riyad Mahrez on the right. As a result City's attacks in the opening 45 minutes were very narrow, a lack of overlapping runs or runs to the byline making it difficult for the Blues to penetrate Brugge's low block defence.
When they did find space, they slowed the pace of the attack as they had to cut back onto their preferred foot. The exception came when Joao Cancelo delivered a first-time cross with his weaker left foot for Phil Foden to score.
Chelsea had a similar experience on Tuesday, until Tuchel switched things up.
"We had the feeling that when we entered into the spaces behind the back five, because Malmo defended with a low block, that we lost some important seconds if Hakim [Ziyech] had to switch the ball back onto his left foot, or Callum [Hudson-Odoi] [onto his right]", Tuchel said of the inverted wingers.
At half-time Ziyech moved to the left and Hudson-Odoi to the right, a move that ultimately produced the only goal of the game.
Just before the hour mark the England youngster was played in down the right-wing, and without having to waste time by cutting inside onto his favoured foot, he produced a perfectly weighted cross that found Ziyech at the back post. The Moroccan coolly tapped home and Chelsea had unpicked their stubborn opponents.
Guardiola made a similar change on Wednesday that instantly made City look more dangerous. Raheem Sterling came off the bench to play off the right-wing and Foden shifted to the left, meaning that City could more easily exploit spaces behind Brugge's wing-backs.
Tuchel's tactical explanation, as well as Guardiola's rather belated adjustment on Wednesday, hints at what City should do against Manchester United on Saturday.
It's likely that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will deploy a back three flanked by wing-backs, which will transform into a back five when City have the ball. The centre of defence will be pretty congested, so if City are to find ways through, attacking the flanks with wingers on their natural sides represents the best option.
Of course, Guardiola probably already knows this. But if he pays as much attention to opposition coaches as he says he does, then Tuchel's comments will reassure him in his convictions.
Do you think Guardiola should ditch inverted wingers for the derby? Follow City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to join the conversation and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
