Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is concerned about the availability of his first-choice striker, Erling Haaland, in their upcoming match against Liverpool, and he already has plans with his alternate options.
Haaland suffered from a groin injury in Manchester City’s FA Cup quarterfinal victory over Burnley FC on March 18. He subsequently pulled out of the Norwegian squad for the international break. Erling is in better shape now but hasn’t trained with the team as of yet.
With a crucial Premier League fixture against Liverpool coming up later today, the question now arises – should Pep Guardiola field a squad at full strength, or should he consider Haaland’s long-term fitness?
Moreover, the “Cityzens” are not short of attacking options in their squad, and they have access to plenty of players who can fill in for the 22-year-old Norwegian. We will likely see a front-three pairing of Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, and Julian Alvarez, with Kevin De Bruyne and Gundogan/Bernardo Silva behind them.
With 61 points after 27 games, Manchester City is in second place in the Premier League. They are likely the only other team besides Arsenal in the title race, who are sitting at the top with 69 points with one more game played.
Update: City’s lineup vs Liverpool has been announced. Haaland is not featured in the squad.
Your City XI 📋
XI | Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Bernardo, Gomez, Perrone, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/QFJnvRH9TN
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 1, 2023
Erling Haaland has been performing like a monster
Erling Haaland is one of the youngsters who has risen to fame with monstrous performances. He first gained widespread attention during his time with Salzburg, where he scored eight goals in six appearances for the club in the UEFA Champions League in 2019-2020. His strong play caught the eye of the German club Borussia Dortmund, and they signed the promising youngster in January 2020.
After joining BVB, Erling Haaland was in sensational form for the club. He quickly established himself as one of the most lethal strikers in European football and scored an incredible number of goals for the club. On his debut, he came off the bench to score a hat-trick in just 23 minutes in a 5-3 victory over FC Augsburg.
In the 2020-2021 Bundesliga season, he scored 27 goals in 28 appearances, finishing as the league’s second-highest scorer behind Robert Lewandowski. In the same season, he also scored 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League, finishing as the competition’s second-highest scorer behind Kylian Mbappe.
Erling Haaland signed a five-year contract with Manchester City last summer after City agreed to a transfer fee of £51.2 million with Borussia Dortmund. Haaland’s father, Alfie Haaland, was a former Manchester City player. So far in the current season, Erling has scored 42 goals in just 37 games. Now that is ridiculous!
Do you think Pep Guardiola will miss Erling Haaland today? Don’t forget to share your opinion!
