"I'm looking forward to it. It's a friendly but it's good to be starting once again. Practice is one thing, but you only really learn about players in games, and I do need to learn about the squad we have here. I've been looking forward to the friendlies we have coming up, and I'll learn from them."

"I hope there's a good atmosphere and I hope it will be a good game. We know it's still early in pre-season but we are going there with the best possible team and we'll try to play good football. We'll be organised, we're not ready to start the Premier League yet - but then no-one is yet! It's a beginning for me, and I'm really looking forward to it."