Alan Shearer is looking forward to a “ferocious” Manchester derby
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Coral football ambassador Alan Shearer can hardly wait for the Manchester derby, so we sat him down with our own John Hill for an interview about the first really big Premier League dust-up of the campaign.
“Man City style not seen in Premier League before”
“It’s no secret there’s no love lost between the two [managers],” Shearer said, who is looking forward to the styles clash between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho’s tactical approaches. “That adds extra spice and they’ve got very different styles.
“Pep has bought a style to Manchester City that we’ve not seen in the Premier League before, particularly getting the two full backs into the middle of the park to overload the midfield.
“The two wingers are practically getting chalk on their boots to give Man City so much width. Both teams are in-form, having won all their games. It’s a big blow to Manchester City to be without Sergio Aguero.”
Man Utd “bigger, stronger and more physical”
“United are a much bigger, stronger and more physical outfit this year with [Eric] Bailly at centre half, [Paul] Pogba in the middle and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic up front,” continued Shearer.
“The number of balls they get into the box now is a big factor, aiming early for Ibrahimovic. We’ve already seen him benefitting from that with headed goals.
“It will be a ferocious derby with the added spice, the world’s most expensive player and two great managers in there.”
Pogba brings “different qualities” than goals
Of the Red Devils’ world record signing Paul Pogba, Shearer added that he feels the France midfielder has settled well back into life at Old Trafford, but also warns Man Utd supporters not to expect the wrong things from the player.
“He’s not going to go out and score 25 or 30 goals a season,” Shearer said. “He’s going to bring different qualities to that United team.
“The title won’t be decided on Saturday, but it’s a chance for a team to put a marker down and make a pretty big statement. That’s what both clubs will want to do and both teams can improve as the season goes on.”
Related
You’ll find more interviews with and analysis from Alan in the Shearer says archive.
