Guardiola wary ahead of Man Utd match

According to coach Pep Guardiola, this weekend's Premier League clash with Man Utd will be very different to what Man City experienced in their 6-2 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup.

"The game against Man Utd will be completely different," Guardiola said after the win at Kenilworth Road on February 27. "It will be very difficult. Man Utd defend differently to Luton and have experienced players. Now, we will have two days off. Everyone has to be comfortable mentally and with their legs. Then we will have two days to prepare."

The match in round 27 of the Premier League on March 3 will take place at the Etihad Stadium. This is the first step in a series of five matches that could decide whether Guardiola and his team can defend their title this season. In the next four matches, Man City will face Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal and Aston Villa. The common point of the five opponents that Man City will face is that they are all ranked in the Top 7.

Man City is currently second in the Premier League, with 59 points after 26 rounds, one point behind Liverpool. Meanwhile, Man Utd is sixth with 44 points.

Guardiola was pleased after Man City beat Luton Town 6-2 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on the evening of February 27 at Kenilworth Stadium. Photo: Man City — Guardiola was pleased after Man City beat Luton Town 6-2 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on the evening of February 27 at Kenilworth Stadium. Photo: *Man City*

The 6-2 win over Luton in the fifth round of the FA Cup was a major boost for Man City. Erling Haaland regained his confidence with five goals, while Kevin De Bruyne impressed with four assists for his Norwegian team-mate.

Guardiola praised Luton's 4-0 win over Brighton at Kenilworth, but he was also proud of how well City's players read Luton's play, especially the combination between Haaland and De Bruyne. "Erling needs a team-mate with vision, quality and generosity," Guardiola added. "Kevin is a less selfish player. If he can't score, he will assist. Kevin needs Erling's movement. Kevin and Erling are great, but everyone has to contribute."

Haaland opened the scoring in the third minute, connecting on a low cross from De Bruyne. Then, in the 18th and 40th minutes, he scored from one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper after a long pass from his Belgian teammate. After Jordan Clark scored two goals in a row for Luton, Man City's attacking duo shined together: De Bruyne crossed for Haaland to shoot into an empty net to make it 4-2 in the 55th minute.

Haaland only had to wait three more minutes for his fifth, this time after Bernardo Silva's pass, his shot deflected off the goalkeeper and into the goal. Mateo Kovacic sealed the victory like a tennis set for Man City with a long-range shot in the 72nd minute.

This is the second time Haaland has scored five goals in a match for Man City, the first time coming in the 7-0 win over Leipzig in the second leg of the 2022-2023 Champions League round of 16. This season, Haaland has 27 goals in 29 matches in all competitions.

Thanh Quy (according to MEN )

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