Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he will be scouting instead of watching Man Utd versus Liverpool

Guardiola insists he will be preparing his team for their next game rather than watching Sunday's big Premier League fixture

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will not watch Sunday's Premier League game between leaders Liverpool and Manchester United because he will be scouting his side's next opponents.

City closed the gap on Liverpool by winning 2-0 at Crystal Palace but a win for the Reds at Old Trafford would restore their eight-point advantage.

Guardiola's side host Italians Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Asked about Sunday's game, he told Sky Sports: "I have to see Atalanta."

Guardiola is likely to be watching video analysis of the Italian side after they played their Serie A match on Saturday, letting slip a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3.

City, meanwhile, got their title challenge back on track following two defeats in four league games with the win at Palace.

Gabriel Jesus and David Silva scored two goals in as many minutes in the first half of Saturday's game at Selhurst Park, but City could have won by a bigger margin but for some poor decision-making in the final third and inspired goalkeeping by Palace's Wayne Hennessey.

Ederson then prevented it being an uncomfortable end to the game with two excellent saves at the other end, and Guardiola wants his side to be more clinical in the future.

"We played good, created a lot of chances," he added. "They are always so strong for the second ball. Unfortunately, we could not convert the chances we had but it was an important three points after the international break.

"Hopefully we can start from here and continue our good performance. Their keeper made a lot of saves but hopefully we can be more clinical."