Louis van Gaal: Manchester City's squad doesn't make me jealous... I'm proud of my players and I know they can win the derby

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Louis van Gaal has claimed his Manchester United team is ready to tilt the balance of power back towards Old Trafford when they meet neighbours City in Sunday's derby at the Etihad Stadium.

United know that victory against City on Sunday will move them to within a point of their stuttering neighbours and manager Van Gaal claims his team is good enough.

Asked to compare the two squads on Friday, the United manager said: 'I am not jealous of the squad of Manchester City.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal (left) enjoys a joke with midfielder Darren Fletcher on Friday

Juan Mata, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Ander Herrera and Robin van Persie (left to right) train

Radamel Falcao is still injured after missing the 1-1 draw with Chelsea and will not be in United's squad

Marcos Rojo (left) and Antonio Valencia could be two of many South Americans involved at the Etihad

'I am proud of my players and that is the most important thing and when we play like a team then we have a big chance to win. Our goal is to win this game. It is possible, we are growing, we are developing ourselves, I think.

'What we have seen of Manchester City in the last matches was not so good. But that was also the case last year, Ryan Giggs has warned me. So you never know.'

With Wayne Rooney back for United on Sunday and City missing playmaker David Silva for a month after damaging knee ligaments in midweek, the visitors would appear to have a chance against a team who have not won for three games. 

Manchester United captain Rooney has been suspended since his red card against West Ham

The return of Rooney (left) to the line-up is likely to mean Mata (right) will be dropped to the bench against City

Manuel Pellegrini will be without midfielder David Silva, who was injured against Newcastle in midweek

City defender Pablo Zabaleta said: 'We need to do much better than we have done in the last three games. It is just about three points and winning that game. It means we can get the confidence back and it's something we need at the moment. We cannot drop points because of the race with Chelsea. It's a really important day for both teams.' 

City manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed that his club were never able to consider buying Angel di Maria from Real Madrid in the summer because of the spending restrictions placed on them by UEFA for breaking Financial Fair Play guidelines. Di Maria was offered to City the week before United paid £60million for him but Pellegrini said: 'We have an important restriction about budget this year. We cannot spend the money that United paid for Di Maria.'

Van Gaal urged his players to take the emotion out of the game and avoid red cards.

Van Gaal believes his side have a good chance of winning the Manchester derby if they play as a team

Pablo Zabaleta (right), pictured with Angel di Maria and Rojo (left to right) at a Premier League Kicks charity event, says City cannot drop points against rivals United

City boss Pellegrini has admitted that his club were not in a financial position to bid for Di Maria last summer

Di Maria appeared in a relaxed mood during Manchester United's training session on Friday

Carrick (front) is in contention to play his first game of the season for United after an ankle injury

'That's also a main point in our preparation because you know that this is more than an emotional game,' said United's boss. 'We don't want a red card because when it is 11 versus 10 it shall be very difficult to win.'

Meanwhile, Yaya Toure has surprised City fans by not choosing any of their summer recruits as among his five best buys of this season. One he did select has left the club — Alvaro Negredo — while another two have become United players.

Toure said: 'I think definitely Di Maria and [James] Rodriguez.

'Rodriguez was a fantastic one, and, as well, United with the move for [Radamel] Falcao, he is a great striker, unbelievable.'

Yaya Toure failed to name a single Manchester City signing when asked about last summer's best buys

Toure picked Real Madrid star James Rodriguez (right) as one of his top five summer signings

The Ivorian spoke highly of Negredo, who left for Valencia, adding: 'He's had injury problems, but he was brilliant for us last year and I think he's made a great move. We were sad to see him go because he was one of our top strikers last season. I think we are going to miss him a lot.'

Toure gave a special mention for Liverpool's Mario Balotelli.

'The fifth one is one of my great friends, Mario Balotelli, like my brother. I hope he is going to do well with Liverpool because he has been involved in a few problems in the past year. But he is becoming more mature and he can control all of that.'

Toure was speaking to Nissan.