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Man Utd icon Gary Neville makes hilarious four-word quip to Haaland before Man City derby
Manchester United and Manchester City face off at the Eithad on Sunday
Man Utd and ten Hag face manic 42-day period
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has told Manchester City striker Erling Haaland that he hopes he will not see him in Sunday's derby as the pair filmed a promotion for the match on Sky Sports. The Norwegian striker has set the Premier League alight since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 11 goals in his opening seven games.
United and City face off at the Etihad this Sunday in what is expected to be a close-fought match. There is plenty on the line for both sides with the Sky Blues looking to maintain their place near the top of the Premier League while the Reds will hope to continue their ascent up the division having won each of their last four matches.
If Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag wants to have any chance of winning the game then his main task will be stopping the in-form Haaland. The striker has been on fire this season, netting every 52 minutes on average, including two hat tricks in a row against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, and will be expected to find the target again versus his Manchester rivals.
The game is live on Sky Sports, where Haaland and Neville have been discussing his player's form and the upcoming fixture. It appears the former United right-back is concerned about what he could do to his former side after a hilarious promotional footage for the derby was shared. In the video, Neville told the 22-year-old he hoped he wouldn’t be around for the match.
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Neville opened the clip by encouraging viewers to watch the match on the channel this weekend. He said: “Manchester derby on Sky Sports we are on air at 1pm.”
Haaland then followed: “2pm kick-off, be there.”
Neville finished by making a cheeky four-word retort, telling the forward: “I hope you’re not.” Both men were seen to be in fits of laughter as the camera faded away.
The fixture at the Eithad will be Ten Hag’s first match against Pep Guardiola as boss of the Red Devils. The Dutchman served under the Spaniard as reserve team coach at Bayern Munich and has previously credited his style of play to the philosophy the 51-year-old initially implemented at Barcelona.
Speaking in 2019 while he was still coaching Ajax, he explained what he had taken from the former midfielder during his stint in Bavaria.
“I learned a lot from Guardiola,” he said. “His philosophy is sensational, what he did in Barcelona, Bayern and now with Manchester City, that attacking and attractive style sees him win a lot.
“It’s this structure that I’ve tried to implement with Ajax.”
Sunday’s match gets underway at 2pm with Ten Hag desperate to keep Haaland quiet in order to claim a famous victory over United’s ‘noisy neighbours’.