Vincent Kompany claims it is the ideal time to have a Manchester derby -- even though Manchester City go into Sunday's meeting on a poor run of results while Manchester United have produced their best performances under Louis van Gaal.
Monday's 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace means City have lost five of their last five games and go to Old Trafford beneath United in the table.
City beat United 1-0 when they met in November but Van Gaal's team have now won their last five league matches.
However, City captain Kompany believes form can be irrelevant when local rivals clash and thinks this is the chance to get back to winning ways.
"We have United on Sunday and a derby is a derby. It doesn't matter what place you are in the league, it's a derby," he told reporters.
"If anything, it's a good moment to go into a derby. I guess the momentum is a little bit with our neighbours at the moment but it's the perfect place for us to go and try to rectify what we've had on Monday."
While City are unlikely to retain their Premier League title, Kompany believes that if they can get fine results in their last seven games, they could take momentum into the 2015-16 campaign.
"For me, my only concern is we get back to our best form," he added.
"I've learnt from the past seasons as well that finishing a season strongly can have an impact on your next season as well."