Pep Guardiola eases concerns over Erling Haaland’s fitness to face Liverpool after the Norway international twisted his ankle on international duty
- Goalscoring behemoth was unable to take part in Norway’s match v Scotland
- Plus: Guardiola admits that Jurgen Klopp has made him ‘a better manager’
- City-Liverpool is tough to referee… but our campaign is up and running – IAKO
Pep Guardiola is hopeful that Erling Haaland will take part in the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday after revealing the player took part in Thursday’s training session.
The Norway international was withdrawn from international competition ahead of last weekend after picking up an ankle issue during a friendly against Faroe Islands.
Haaland missed Norway’s final European Championship qualifier against Scotland on Sunday, but his domestic manager eased concerns about his availability on Saturday in his press conference before the crunch clash.
‘(Haaland) trained yesterday with some niggles. Today, we have the last training, and hopefully he can be a part of that,’ Guardiola shared.
The striker took to Instagram after picking up the injury last week to share his desire to take part in the top-of-the-table contest, pledging that he was ‘trying to get back ASAP’ after missing out on facing Scotland.
Erling Haaland could yet be in contention for Man City’s match against Liverpool despite twisting his ankle on duty for Norway last week
Pep Guardiola was hopefully about his training on Thursday, but will make the final call at 6pm
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Guardiola opted not to elicit sympathy when discussing his injury list, stating that he ‘had a few problems, like many, many clubs.
‘We’ll see who is available (tomorrow),’ Guardiola added. ‘At 6pm (on Friday) I will know it for sure.’
When asked if he was planning a Plan A side and a Plan B side, Guardiola quipped: ‘Always (it) is Plan A.’
The Catalan manager was bristling with anticipation ahead of the early clash at the Etihad on Saturday as he discussed how Liverpool had become the club’s ‘best rivals’ due to the rivalry built up between himself and Jurgen Klopp.
Both managers have now served significant tenures – by Premier League standards – at the helm of their respective clubs, and Guardiola stressed that facing his German counterpoint over the years had made him ‘a better manager’.
Whilst Haaland may be back in action, the club has a number of players missing due to injury, including John Stones (right)
Ahead of the clash, Guardiola reserved praise for his opposite number, Jurgen Klopp (left)
‘Absolutely (he has improved me). Absolutely, he helps me reflect – absolutely,’ Guardiola said, adding that whenever his sides’ had faced Klopp’s teams, they had ‘always (been) attractive games’.
Liverpool’s trip to Manchester does not come without some trepidation, however.
Both sides sent letters to their supporters urging them against causing crowd trouble after a run of feisty encounters between the two teams.
Concern over fan behaviour previously prompted a time switch for the fixture after a request from a local safety advisory group.
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