Manchester City have the chance to end their run of two straight defeats when they take on rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland has hit out at his Manchester City teammates for their poor start to the 2025/26 Premier League ahead of this weekend’s clash with Manchester United. City have lost two of their first three games and currently sit a frustrating 13th in the top-flight standings.
Last time out, they squandered a lead at Brighton to lose 2-1 after also falling to a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Pep Guardiola’s side had started the season with a 4-0 thrashing of Wolves but they have not once since.
After the first international break of the season, Haaland has labelled their season start as “not good enough”. This week, City take on United in the first Manchester derby of the season and they will be looking to seek revenge for last season’s defeat.
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“We’ve lost two games in a row, it’s not good enough, it’s way too bad,” he told ViaPlay. “We need to figure it out, get back to winning ways.
“We can’t afford to lose games as there’s so many good teams. It’s perfect to turn things around against United.
“We need to all be on our best, get ourselves going. [We need to] Get things going, because it has not been good enough so far. Losing’s not cool. It’s annoying, you need to use it for something positive.
“As motivation to do better the next game – and I expect that we are. We need to use the angriness inside us out on the pitch to deliver at our highest level.”
Guardiola has also acknowledged his side’s difficult start to the campaign – claiming that they can’t afford to hope that previous success repeats itself. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” the Catalan said.
“I know the results dictate all the positions of the teams and I have to make a good season for that. I will not stay here when I feel that the club needs a chance, but right now I feel that I want to do it more than ever, after what happened last season and especially now in that moment.
“I want to be in front of all of the club, to make my shoulders bigger and bigger, to keep the weight of the situation and with my players, try to do it. I’m not here just because I’ve done in the past.”
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
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