Rangnick and Guardiola make their thoughts on each other clear ahead of derby

Ralf Rangnick labelled Pep Guardiola "one of the best" managers in the world as the pair exchanged compliments ahead of Sunday's Manchester Derby.

Guardiola has been hailed by the interim Manchester United boss, Rangnick, who himself received praise for being the "father of pressing" - a tag picked up thanks to his ground-breaking work in German football.

Manchester City welcome cross-city rivals United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday for a crucial Premier League clash.

While Guardiola's side know they barely afford any further slip-ups in the title race, Rangnick and co are desperate to finish in the top four and consequently qualify for the Champions League.

And although Sunday's derby will see them compete in opposite corners, both managers - who first became acquainted in the Bundesliga - had kind words to say about one another in their respective pre-match press conferences on Friday.

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"We know that we are playing one of, if not the best team in the world," admitted Rangnick. "They have developed well since Pep arrived.

"The same happened at Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He is one of the best. We know what they are all about. It will be about a lot of tactical work, fighting with and without the ball.

"We have created a lot of chances in the last ten or 11 games. We scored four goals at Leeds and should have scored one, two or three goals against Watford.

"But I would have been more worried if we had not been creating chances. We are also compact when the other team is in possession of the ball."

And returning the acclaimed German coach's compliment, former Bayern boss Guardiola said: "I would say the idea from Ralf Rangnick is the tendency already in the Premier League.

"So many teams want to play in this way. Ralf Rangnick is like the father of the gegenpress or these transitions.

"We see that with Liverpool, Southampton and with Jesse Marsch now at Leeds, a little bit with Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel, although Thomas Tuchel plays a little bit wider with wing-backs. But it is the tendency.

"Most of the clubs who are already here in England are playing this way, and important ones. Five or six teams are playing in this way. The work he has done in Germany is exceptional.

"In Leipzig, he created a proper school. From Austria and New York, all the teams play the same way. I think he came here to try and instil it and you see some patterns of how he wants to do it."

While mutual respect between the two teams is rarely a theme on show in the lead-up to derby day, the admiration Rangnick and Guardiola have for one another is nothing they are shy about.