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Anthony Martial desperate to score against old foes St Etienne

during the Premier League match between XXX and XXX at Old Trafford on February 11, 2017 in Manchester, England.
Image: Anthony Martial says he would love to score against old rivals St Etienne on Thursday

Manchester United's Anthony Martial would love to score against old foes St Etienne in the Europa League.

Before moving to Monaco and then to Old Trafford, the 21-year-old came through the youth ranks at Lyon - the bitter rivals of Thursday's last-32 opponents.

Martial never played in the Rhone-Alpes derby but took great pleasure in scoring against St Etienne after coming off the bench to snatch a 1-1 draw for Monaco in April 2015.

Fresh from his man-of-the-match return to the United starting line-up against Watford, the France international is now targeting another goal against Les Verts - one that would cost United £8.5m (€10m) given a clause in their deal with Monaco.

"There was a huge rivalry while I was still at Lyon," Martial told the club's official website. "It was always a highly-charged atmosphere and they were usually massive games, the kind all players love to play in.

"So there will be that added competitive edge whenever I play against them.

"We know it will be a difficult match but if we play with all our quality, I think we can do good things.

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"Of course, it would be great if I could score against them again, but I hope we can win the game because that's the most important thing, then it would be a bonus if I managed to grab a goal."

Paul Pogba has been sending warning messages to his brother ahead of facing him, says Florentin Pogba
Image: Paul Pogba has been sending warning messages to his brother Florentin Pogba ahead of facing him

Martial's resumption of battle with St Etienne is a side note compared to the noise surrounding the battle between Paul Pogba and brother Florentin, who will line up for the visitors on Thursday.

"They are well known for being big jokers and mickey-takers but, once they are on the field, it will be like two warriors who are going all out to win the game," Martial said.

"If one beats the other, he'll immediately start giving out loads of stick so they'll be desperate to do all they can to win!"

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