Antonio Nusa is not pretending he can out-run Erling Haaland. He is going to text him instead.

The RB Leipzig winger told Bild he plans to break the ice with the Norway team-mate he will face at Red Bull Arena.

“He’s a great guy. I’m looking forward to seeing him. Hopefully we can win. I will write him a message,” Nusa told Bild, with a smile.

Kick-off in Leipzig is at 9pm local time, matchday four of the Champions League league phase.

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A record that borders on silly

Haaland has scored 12 goals in eight meetings with Leipzig across his Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City years, according to the match preview on The False 9. Five of those came in a single evening at the Etihad in March 2023, when City won 7-0 in the Round of 16.

Martin Demichelis, the Argentinian who once played for Manchester City himself, called the striker difficult to defend against, telling Bild Haaland was in outstanding shape and the kind of player who decides matches on his own.

Nusa is the one in form

Nusa is where the home side’s hope lives. The Norwegian has four goals and six assists for Leipzig this season, and scored and set up another in the 2-0 Bundesliga win over Schalke before the international break, the Bundesliga’s first player to 10 goal involvements this season.

Leipzig need the night. The hosts have taken only three points from their opening three league-phase games, most recently losing 4-1 at Real Madrid, and sit 29th in the 36-team table. City are 10th on six points, warmed up by a 5-1 win over AEK Athens but coming off a 1-0 Premier League defeat at home to Brighton.

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‘I learn from him’

The two Norwegians know each other well through the national team, and Nusa has been candid elsewhere about how much Haaland means to him off the pitch.

“As a person, I learn from him by seeing how he lives and thinks. It’s great to be able to see that up close and incorporate it into my own life,” he told Sport Bild.

Leipzig go into the fixture with Assan Ouedraogo out through a shoulder injury and Marc Guiu sidelined with a hamstring problem, while defender Maxime Esteve is a doubt. City’s Antoine Semenyo remains out with the knee injury he picked up in October.

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