Friday 9 March 2018 14:53, UK
Pep Guardiola will sit his Manchester City players down to enjoy a "classic" between Manchester United and Liverpool on Saturday.
Premier League leaders City are 16 points ahead of United and 18 in front of Liverpool - their nearest rivals in the table - heading into the fixture, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Guardiola remains wary of facing Jose Mourinho's United side on April 7, and says his team will turn into "spectators" after training on Saturday morning as they wait to face Stoke on Monday.
"It's a big derby, it's a classic in England," said Guardiola, who confirmed his agent is not in Manchester to discuss a new contract for him.
"United against Liverpool is one of the most exciting games by far. The history from both teams are amazing in the 80s, 90s.
"So we will stop after the training session, then it is the big game and normally the big games we are delighted to watch. In two [match] weekends' time we have a game against United so we will watch it for sure.
"It [the Premier League] is almost done but we are not the champions. The champions are still Chelsea. We have to take the points as soon as possible knowing if the situation is not good you have another chance.
"We will watch United vs Liverpool as a spectator and it would have happened whether there was this big difference or not. It's a big game."
Guardiola will wait until Sunday to make a decision on the fitness of Fernandinho and Fabian Delph for their trip to the Bet365 Stadium - live on Monday Night Football.
Stoke are currently second-bottom in the Premier League, and Guardiola believes facing a team battling for survival after a full weekend of fixtures could make it a more difficult test for City.
"They are strong, lots of set-pieces, it's always a tough game," he said.
"When we face teams when they fight to stay in the Premier League you can't imagine how complicated it is.
"I don't like to play Monday. When it's the weekend everybody is involved and when the weekend is over we have to play.
"I don't know if the players can be ready. But we're going to work on that these two days."
