Leeds manager Jesse Marsch joked about being in contact with Manchester City forward Erling Haaland ahead of their Premier League match on Tuesday.
- Haaland texted Marsch ahead of Tuesday's game
- Joked that he wanted Haaland injured
- Underlines threat that Norwegian poses
WHAT HAPPENED? Marsch, who managed Haaland during his time at Austrian outfit RB Salzburg, revealed that the Norwegian had made contact with him ahead of the pair's first meeting in England. The American joked that he gave Haaland "permission to be injured" for the game, before reiterating the danger he poses for his Leeds side.
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
WHAT THEY SAID: "He texted me as soon as the schedule came out. I gave him permission to have a small hamstring injury for that match!" Marsch told reporters.
"He was born in Leeds, his father has history here and he has the club in his heart because of that. When I got the job, him and his father were supportive. We'll expect him to be fully ready and that causes issues for us."
🎙 𝗛𝗮𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱: “Erling texted me when the schedule came out and said he was most excited for this game. He was born here, the club is in his heart. It will be important for us to manage him on the day. You have to an awareness of where he is at all times.” pic.twitter.com/cgml94bVgM
— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 22, 2022
THE BIGGER PICTURE: While Haaland's father, Alf Inge, was playing for the Yorkshire side when his son was born, the 22-year-old has since taken the Premier League by storm and is on course to break multiple records with his 18 goals in 13 league games so far this campaign. The Norwegian even featured in a Sky Sports advert revealing he was raring for the resumption of club football, meaning Marsch and Leeds face a tough challenge against the champions on Tuesday.
WHAT NEXT FOR LEEDS? Marsch's side face Haaland and Co. at Elland Road on December 28 looking to spring any kind of upset, before facing a similarly difficult task away at Newcastle on December 31 to close out the year.
Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | fuboTV, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
