Kyle Walker names Man Utd dangerman who could embarrass Man City in the derby
Kyle Walker warned his fellow Manchester City teammates to be wary of one Manchester United star in particular ahead of today’s derby.
Man City travel to Old Trafford for the first Manchester derby of the season later today. The match will kick off in the unusual timeslot of 3:30pm rather than the customary Sky Sports Super Sunday slot of 4:30pm.
City require a win to keep in touch with high-flying Tottenham. United, meanwhile, could do with all three points to simply boost their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Superstars will be dotted all across the pitch later this afternoon, though according to Kyle Walker, it’s Marcus Rashford in particular his team must be wary of.
Rashford has endured a sub-par start to the season, scoring just once and providing three assists in 12 matches across all competitions.
Nonetheless, Man Utd have shown they’re capable of hurting City on the break in previous seasons and Rashford will again be integral to that style of play.
Indeed, Rashford netted the winner in United’s 2-1 victory over City at Old Trafford in January. Having seen what Rashford is capable of during their time together with England too, Walker sounded a warning to his teammates ahead of the crunch clash.
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Walker v Rashford could define the derby
“Marcus has shown over the years that he’s the sort of player who can create problems for any side if they don’t match him,” said Walker (as quoted by the Manchester Evening News).
“He’s been important for United and England since he was a teenager because of the threat he offers to any team he’s in.
“He’s got a lot of different qualities. We know he can be dangerous at the weekend.”
Rashford is likely to be in direct competition with Walker if deployed in his favoured left wing role. Rasmus Hojlund should get the nod to start up top, thus teeing up a mouth-watering one-v-one battle between Walker and Rashford out wide.
But while bragging rights will be on the line, Walker stressed he and his City teammates won’t let emotions get in the way of their ultimate goal of lifting the Premier League once again.
“We want to win the game because of what it means and because, ultimately, it will help us in trying to win the Premier League again,” continued the full-back.
“We don’t need to think beyond that, we’ve had some great games against them in recent years and our focus is on giving the fans something to enjoy again.”
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