Zlatan: We Believe In Ourselves

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already had his first Manchester derby experience as a Red and marked it with a goal, but the striker is hoping for a different outcome on Wednesday night after losing out to City last month and he says the players' belief gives them confidence for the clash.

Speaking exclusively to United Review, the official matchday programme, before Sunday's disappointing day at Stamford Bridge, the 35-year-old discussed his time at the club so far and his memories of playing in some of the fiercest and most intense football derbies across Europe.

Ibrahimovic talked about how these kinds of matches "can bring out the maximum of yourself" and how "you always want to be the boss of the city" come full-time.

Looking back on the league defeat to the Blues and ahead to Wednesday's EFL Cup tie at Old Trafford, Zlatan told United Review: "We cannot go back and change the result, absolutely not, but we can make a difference in the upcoming game. We have an opportunity to play against City again, at home.

"We didn’t do good in the last game because we lost, obviously, but let’s change that for this game and win the game and go further in the cup. That’s what we want. We believe in ourselves and believe in what we are doing, that’s the main thing.

"They have good quality players, they know what they’re doing and what they need to do, but at the same time we know also what we need to do and what we are doing. It’s nice to play against good players because they are the games that you can bring out the maximum of yourself.

"Of course, everything is new for me [for the derby], I play the game and I saw how the game goes. It’s a rival game between two teams from the same city; one is light blue, one is red. You always want to be the boss of the city, of course," he continued.

"I have big experience for these kinds of games; I’ve played all over Europe in similar games, the kind of games, let’s say, where the heat is. I came out as a winner many times in these moments so let’s hope this is another moment I can come out as a winner."

Asked if he had bumped into any City fans around Manchester, he joked: "I’ve met a lot but they became United supporters when they met me!"

Also in the interview, which you can watch on MUTV's Matchday Preview show at 17:00 BST on Wednesday, Ibrahimovic discusses a number of topics including his ambitions to be an English league champion, why the Brazilian Ronaldo is the greatest player of all time and which of the many goals from his illustrious career is the best he's ever scored.