Manchester City face Liverpool this Saturday (1:30 p.m.) and may have to do without the services of their injured Norwegian serial scorer.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is a doubt for Saturday’s home game against Liverpool in the Premier League but could be put to use, manager Pep Guardiola has said, as his side continue to chase leaders Arsenal.
Haaland, who joined City this season from Borussia Dortmund, scored 42 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions but suffered a groin injury against Burnley on March 18 and was dropped from Norway’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Take the risk
«Erling is recovering. The doctors and especially the player will decide in the end how he feelsGuardiola said at a press conference on Friday. I spoke to him on Thursday, he feels good. But we’ll see. Life is full of risks. At this point we have to take them.»
If Haaland were to extend his outage, it would be bad news for City’s pursuit of Arsenal, who are eight points clear of the London club after playing one more game. City need a win against Jürgen Klopp’s side to prevent the gap from growing into double digits.
City, already without striker Phil Foden for up to three weeks after his appendix was removed, are also hoping Haaland can play a key role in their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich. , whose first leg will take place at the Etihad on April 11.
Watch out for Liverpool
However, Guardiola expressed confidence in City’s ability to weather the storm should the 22-year-old not be available.
«We’ve scored a lot of goals this season and he’s scored an incredible number of them, did he declare. But we’ve always scored a lot of goals since we’ve been here.»
Guardiola added that sixth-placed Liverpool, who have finished runners-up to City three times in the past ten years but lacked consistency this season, are still a dangerous team to play for.
«They remain an exceptional team, he said. Each club can experience ups and downs during a season.»
Arsenal, who are seeking their first league title since 2003-04, host 14th-placed Leeds United later on Saturday.