Inside unlikely friendship between neighbouring Liverpool and Man City stars

City currently sit top of the Premier League having picked up 28 points from their first 12 games - and Liverpool trail them by just one point.

But the match will see some old friends go head-to-head as Liverpool summer signing Szoboszlai reveals a strong bond with last year's Golden Boot winner Haaland.

The two played together at Red Bull Salzburg from 2019 to 2020 where they won the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup.

Szoboszlai told the BBC: "We got really close because we were both young."

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And he was full off praise for the Norwegian both on and off the pitch, calling him a 'great player, great guy'.

Szoboszlai, who has just captained Hungary to qualification for Euro 2024, joined Liverpool on a five-year deal in July 2023 for a reported fee of £60million.

The 23-year-old then made the move to the North West of England - and ended up with a rather familiar neighbour.

He said: "(Haaland) has a house and then two houses between us, and then it's my house!"

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Haaland was prolific during his time at RB Salzburg, scoring 29 goals in a year.

And Szoboszlai also flourished at the club - he spent three seasons at the club where he made 56 appearances and scored 16 goals.

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He then made the move to RB Leipzig in 2020 where he spent one season out through injury, before settling in well and going on to make 62 appearances for the German side.

And with just hours left on his release clause, Liverpool finally swooped in for Szoboszlai in July.

He has made a strong start to life at the club having scored once in his 12 appearances so far.

And the midfielder has proved his worth, playing more minutes than any other outfield player at Liverpool this season.

Jurgen Klopp has also expressed his delight with the midfielder, who created the most chances of any Liverpool player in his first nine Premier League appearances since Harry Kewell in 2003.

But the Hungarian revealed the news of his transfer to Liverpool came as something of a surprise to his friend, Haaland.

He said: "When I came to sign, it was not official yet.

"I sent him a picture with a Liverpool shirt and he was like, 'Oh, what's happening?'

"And I said, 'Yeah, we're going to see each other.'

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"And he said, 'Congratulations - the Premier League is crazy!'"