sport news Man City midfielder Rodri prepares to rekindle battle with Scott McTominay ... trends now
Spain midfielder Rodri is ready to renew his rivalry with Scott McTominay 200 miles north of Manchester as he seeks to prevent Scotland’s big-game players from thriving at Hampden.
A mainstay at City under Pep Guardiola, Rodri regularly locks horns with the English Premier League contingent inside Steve Clarke’s squad and expressed his respect for their collective talent ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2024 qualifier.
The 26-year-old has directly come up against United counterpart McTominay in derbies over the past few seasons and knows the Scot will be on a high after his two late goals in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Cyprus.
While Spain saw off Norway by the same scoreline to make a successful start under new national coach Luis de la Fuente, Rodri is adamant they must now deliver a peak performance to take command of Group A in Glasgow.
Aston Villa’s John McGinn, scorer of Scotland’s opener at the weekend, is another of his midfield sparring partners from the club game.
Man City midfielder Rodri is set to line up for Spain against Scotland on Tuesday
He spoke of a 'big rivalry' with United's Scott McTominay and expected a 'tough game' from the Scots
‘I know them very well, of course,’ said Rodri. ‘They are talented players with a lot of physicality to go box to box.
‘I think they are of massive importance to the national team and, of course, they have experience of playing big games in the Premier League — against us, for example.
‘With Scott, it’s a big rivalry, of course, in the Manchester derby.
‘They are good players, as we have also. We don’t focus too much on individual players, more on the things they do collectively.
‘We also try and focus on ourselves to produce a good performance against one of the best teams in the group.
‘This is going to be an important game. If we can win, we’ll have taken six points from the two best teams in the group — Scotland and Norway — so it’s going to be a very tough game.’
Scotland won their first qualifier 3-0 thanks to goals from John McGinn and McTominay
A powerful presence in the holding midfield role, Rodri expects to encounter a mix of fire and finesse from Clarke’s line-up.
Asked to draw a comparison with the challenge Norway presented in Malaga, he replied: ‘Scotland is a different team to Norway. But Norway have some very good weapons in the sense of being able to
