Andy Cole supports the Manchester United team in 1999 to beat Manchester City's current squad

Andy Cole is adamant that the Manchester United team tripled in 1999 would defeat Pep Guardiola's current squad in Manchester City if it competed at its best.

Defending Premier League champions Guardiola are working to close the season with an unprecedented quadruple, a feat that would eclipse United's famous hat-trick on the occasion of his 20th birthday.

Cole, as a special guest on the cover of Sky Sports's Monday Night Football, is totally convinced that the UN team from 1999 had "all the tools" to compete with all the teams of the world, at the time and at the present time.

"We have all the components to beat them," he said.

"Football has changed a lot, but I'm looking at this United team and I truly believe that we have all the tools to match anybody now."

Former Cole teammate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has been named permanent boss of United and he will run up against Guardiola's team in the second match of the Premier League this month.

When asked if United's players and fans would accept a defeat if it allowed them to keep Liverpool's rival from the title, Cole dismissed the idea almost instantly.

He said: "It's a derby game and you want to win the derby game! I do not think people are worried about Liverpool.

"If I play, I want to win a derby. The best team at the end of the season will win. We will see. & # 39;

Cole is third on the list of scorers in the history of the Premier League with 187 goals and has won five Premier League titles during his career.

When asked about his best partner, he was persuaded that it was Dwight Yorke, whom he considered a "match in paradise" when he was in charge. was bound to him.

But as for the best player he played, Cole was torn between midfielder Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

"It's difficult," he reflects. It's a fight for me between Roy and Scholesy. It does not matter how good Roy's leadership is, but he was at the top.

"We all remember Juventus (1999 in the Champions League), but it was just one of them. I would go for one of these two.

Cole's career at Old Trafford has coincided with some of the most successful years in recent years, with no English team matching the club's success in 1999.

Luck plays a role, admits Cole, but the former Manchester United striker and Manchester City admits that he can see City's achievements overshadowing United's exploits this year.

Guardiola players have already won the League Cup, are favorites to win the FA Cup, are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and will return to the top of the Premier League standings with a victory over Cardiff City on Wednesday night. .

"It would be phenomenal if City completed that," he says. "Their form in the Premier League has been fantastic.

"You never know and you need that bit of luck too. They had that against Swansea in the England Cup.