LOUIS VAN GAAL has warned his Manchester United stars to keep a lid on their emotions as they bid to end their derby misery at Old Trafford tomorrow.
Van Gaal fears United's desperation to halt City's run of four consecutive wins could result in another red card.
Chris Smalling was sent off in the first derby at the Etihad Staidum in November - one of five dismissals United have suffered this season, while they also had Jonny Evans banned retrospectively for spitting.
United skipper Wayne Rooney this week issued a "game of pride" rallying call to his team-mates while Maraoune Fellaini says United must be "committed and aggressive". But Van Gaal has demanded cool heads.
"It takes a lot of talents to be a professional player, and one of them is the ability to control your emotions," he said.
"When you have already got a yellow card you must make sure you don't get another one and get sent off.
"The number of red cards we have had this season is a record for me as a manger. We have had five and that is unbelievable. It is not good.
"I always warn before these kind of games that we have to control our emotions."
Van Gaal claims he fears City less than last Saturday's opponents Aston Villa "because they will not be so defensive and will not try to hit us with long balls".
But he also admitted that losing twice to City will not be as bad as losing home and away to Swansea.
"It is very bad for Manchester United to lose twice to Swansea. That is a bigger failure than if we lose to City twice. That is always possible. But I dream of winning."
City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists he is "not afraid" of losing his job and believes he still has the support of his players and the club's Abu Dhabi owners.
"Why am I so sure? Because I have experience, you know when a squad is behind you when you are working and you know when you work well or work bad," he said.
"But you can't talk about something which is not your decision. But if you ask me why I'm not afraid - I'm not a coward. I am not afraid because we are in the correct way but a bad moment."
Skipper Vincent Kompany faces a fitness test today after feeling his hamstring tighten up in the defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday.