“Hope you’re not” - Gary Neville hilariously tells Erling Haaland to skip Manchester City vs Manchester United
Former Manchester United star Gary Neville has hilariously asked Erling Haaland to skip the Manchester derby tomorrow (October 2).
A video footage posted by Football Daily on Twitter showed Neville and the Manchester City striker shooting for a promo video. Neville, a commentator for Sky Sports, said (via Football Daily):
“Manchester derby on Sky Sports, we’re on air at 1pm."
Haaland, who stood right next to him in City's training kit, weighed in, saying:
“2pm kick-off, be there.”
Neville then jokingly told the Norwegian:
“Hope you’re not!”
The former player burst into laughter before shaking hands with Haaland and wishing him all the best for the derby.
🗣️ Erling Haaland: “2pm kick-off, be there.”
🗣️ Gary Neville: “Hope you’re not.”
🤣 https://t.co/D0tcMXdOH7
Neville clearly understands the threat the Manchester City talisman could pose to his old club. Haaland has been on fire since joining from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
In ten games, Haaland has racked up 14 goals, including 11 in the Premier League from seven outings, taling the English top flight by storm.
We're sure Erling Haaland is looking forward to this weekend 😏
(via @ManCity) https://t.co/ArIr5DlHqJ
The 22-year-old will be itching to add to his tally against Manchester United, whom he's set to face for the first time in his career.
It will also be his first appearance in the Manchester derby. Haaland will hope to join the ranks of Bobby Charlton, Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney for most goals scored in the fixture.
Manchester City and Manchester United clash in tantalising derby
This could be the toughest Manchester derby between the teams in a while, given the excellent form they are in right now.
Manchester City, the reigning champions, are one of the only two unbeaten teams in the division, sitting in second place in the standings with 17 points from seven games.
Manchester United, meanwhile, recovered from defeats in their opening two games to win their next four. They have now built up momentum in a campaign that threatened to unravel before even taking off.
The last time Erling Haaland faced Lisandro Martinez, Martinez kept a clean sheet and walked away with a 4-0 victory 👀 https://t.co/ygUUvneHTq
Haaland could be the single biggest deciding factor, as City will rely on his goalscoring prowess to eke all three points, Meanwhile, the visitors will have their task cut out against the Nowegian.
United's Lisandro Martinez will come up against the Norwegian star once again, having kept him quiet in Ajax's 4-0 thumping of Dortmund in Europe last year. However, both are playing in different teams now, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top this time.