Joel Veltman discusses how to stop 'unplayable' Man City superstar

Joel Veltman has admitted defending against Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be a ‘tricky one’ for him and his Brighton teammates.

Albion face the current Premier League Champions this Saturday (October 22) and Haaland is expected to start and will look to continue his impressive goal-scoring form this season.

The Norwegian forward is leading the race for the golden boot by some distance, having scored 15 league goals in 10 games, with Harry Kane six goals behind on nine.

Defender Veltman admitted that at times the 22-year-old has been unplayable this season.

He said: “I was watching City vs [Manchester] United the other day, in which Haaland scored that hat-trick. At that assist from [Kevin] De Bruyne, where Haaland stretches his leg all the way out and taps the ball in at the far post - that’s just not defensible.

“Then it’s applauding and running to the halfway line. It’s a tricky one. You often see that a long striker doesn’t have such good technique, but Haaland has just everything.

"Maybe we should ‘sandwich’ him, with an aggressive midfielder in front and a defender short at his back.”

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Brighton travel to the Ethiad Stadium without a win in their last four league games, as manager Roberto De Zerbi chases his first win since taking over from Graham Potter, who joined Chelsea last month.

They face a City team who are currently second in the table, four points of leaders Arsenal, after Pep Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 to Liverpool last Sunday (October 16) – their first defeat of the season.