Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has told Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane that they will face a big “test” against Erling Haaland in this weekend’s Manchester Derby against Manchester City.
The Red Devils have shown significant improvement in recent games after a terrible start to the season, but it remains to be seen if they are truly ready for a team as good as City.
Erik ten Hag appears to have made some progress with these players, with Chadwick highlighting the improved defense as key to Man Utd’s recent form.
However, against Haaland, City’s goalscoring machine, Martinez and Varane are sure to face their biggest test of the season so far, and one they will need to overcome if they are to have any hope of a result at the Etihad Stadium.
“Erling Haaland has had an incredible start to the season but United have beefed up the defense so it will be interesting to see how Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane come through this test,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
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“The obvious threat is Erling Haaland – he doesn’t always have a big impact during the game, but he has scored a lot of goals. Particularly in that match against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, he didn’t have the best performance but he won it with an absolute goal.
“He is the main threat in terms of goalscoring, but De Bruyne is also very important, he is such a complete player and he will look to pass those balls to Haaland.
“But they have threats everywhere, Pep Guardiola has an embarrassment of riches with the likes of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish; you just hope it’s one of those days where it doesn’t happen to them at all.
“However, United will have to score, because I don’t see City not scoring on that day.”
