City travel to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon as they try to extend their lead at the top of the table in what is already a heated title race with champions Arsenal.
Maresca’s side have won four on the bounce in all competitions following their Community Shield setback and enter the clash after a 2-0 win over FC Porto in the Champions League as Erling Haaland bagged a brace.
City won 3-0 at the Etihad last September, before the Red Devils gained revenge by winning 2-0 at Old Trafford at the turn of the year.
How important is the Manchester derby?
Asked first on the derby, Maresca admitted he was impressed by United boss Michael Carrick ahead of a “special” game.
“I think he's doing a fantastic job since last season. He took over in a complicated situation, finished very well. And this season, more or less, starts in the same way, so he's doing very good job.
“It's very important for different reasons. We know how important the derby is, especially here for the club, for the fans, for everyone. So it's a special game, and the most important thing that we can do is try to be ourselves in the way we have been until today, and then we see the final result.”
Maresca continued on the importance of the game later in the conference: "Very important, but to be honest, I'm not thinking about me, I'm more thinking about, you know, the team, the fans, the table, the opportunity for the win.
"It's also good for me, but the main focus is not 'it's my first derby and I want to win the game'. For sure, I want to win the game, but it's because we want to continue to winning games. That is good for everyone. Nice, nice, nice feeling for them. We can continue with that. Last year, game was not the best one for us. But, hopefully, it can be a good one this season."
Maresca hails "unbelievable" Fernandez
Summer signing Enzo Fernandez will get his first taste of the Manchester derby this weekend after securing his first goal contribution on Tuesday as he set up Haaland's first goal against Porto.
Speaking on the former Chelsea star who arrived for £125M, Maresca said he is in a good place at the moment.
"Yeah he's improving a lot. Probably in the last two years with us, he become more of an attacking midfielder. In the past it was a little bit more deep. I think he's unbelievable around the box, in terms of goals, in terms of assists, and also in terms of leadership, I think he is growing a lot.
"You can see also the teammates always speak about him in terms of winner mentality, but, again, I always say the same that players that have already won, they know how to win, and it's important that they are in our squad, but also it's, you know, it's about working hard every day, he's polite, he's working good. This is what we need."