Marcus Rashford has been urged to grab his "second chance" at Manchester United with both hands ahead of the upcoming derby. Manchester City visit Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon in the first clash of the city rivals this season.
Rashford is likely to play a part in this heated fixture, despite picking up a minor injury scare as he was substituted in the 70th minute against Everton. Boss Michael Carrick confirmed the winger was "feeling a bit of something," but it remains to be seen if this issue keeps him out of the derby.
Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez is gearing up for another battle with Erling Haaland at the back. The pair have been embroiled in some major physical battles in the Premier League, and the Argentine defender has spoken out about their personal rivalry.
Marcus Rashford verdict
United icon Gary Pallister has urged Rashford to take his opportunities after being given "a second chance" in Manchester. The winger is back among the fold at the club after falling down the pecking order under former manager Ruben Amorim.
The 28-year-old spent time on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, and was keen to rejoin the latter on a permanent basis. United were keen to offload his £325,000-a-week wages during the summer but Rashford has since worked his way back into Carrick's plans.
Speaking to Betarades.gr, Pallister believes luck has definitely been on the England international's side in recent months. He said: "I think Rashford has been fortunate in the respect of Michael (Carrick) being at the club when Marcus was in his pomp and when he was earning that new contract that he got.
"That's what Michael probably remembers. A couple of years after he signed that deal and he didn't look happy. He obviously got put in the bomb squad, along with three or four of the players and his body language wasn't great, his form wasn't great and I think it suited both parties for him to leave and go to Barcelona where he was desperate to do well."
"And then a contract there didn't work out. They went and got Anthony Gordon and they were both playing that same position at the World Cup for England. I don't know how he felt about all that, but I think it's safe to say he's been fortunate to get a second chance at United and I'm now expecting him to grab it with both hands."
"The Everton game was the best I've seen him. I'm sure he loves the club. He's coming in with a manager in Michael that he knows that he can work with and in the first three games, he seems a lot happier. We know he's a talented player, we know he's a threat. If he's happy and he's hungry, then Marcus Rashford would be in most people's Premier League teams. So, we're going to watch this space, I guess."
Martinez speaks out
Martinez has talked down his personal beef with Haaland, insisting their rivalry is "in the past." The duo have battled heavily in previous Manchester derbies and are set to write a new chapter on Sunday afternoon.
Despite this, the Argentina international has downplayed the nature of their relationship as he said: "Yeah, but that is the past. It's the past, you know, it's gone, and now we have to, I have to be ready for this game because it's going to be so different from the last one."
Martinez enjoyed a great performance against Haaland in the most recent derby, where United ran out 2-0 winners during Carrick's first game in interim charge last season. City have been afforded an extra two days of preparation for the game due to their Champions League game falling earlier than their rivals, but the defender insisted the Red Devils aren't planning to use excuses.
Speaking after United's 5-0 win over Sabah FK in Europe, he added: "This is what we want, playing every three days, playing in all the competitions. This is what we want from long time, you know, and now we are ready. We have to recover now and this is the standard that we want as a team."
