Erling Haaland confirmed out of Man City game in title blow to Pep Guardiola, but duo declared fit
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland will miss the game against Brighton on Thursday night.
City are four points behind league leaders Arsenal but have two games in hand on Mikel Arteta's men.
But they cannot afford any mistakes and need their key players to be fully fit, while the news that Haaland will miss the game against Brighton could be crucial.
Guardiola confirmed the injury news, although he did confirm that Phil Foden and John Stones are back.
“Erling Haaland is not ready for tomorrow; the other two are,” he said in his press conference on Wednesday.
“(It's) not a big problem (for Haaland), but it's not allowed for this match.”
Haaland came off against Real Madrid last week in the Champions League after telling Guardiola he was exhausted.
He subsequently missed the following match against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, a match in which City won 1-0.
And the Norway international will now miss a second successive game to give City a conundrum up front.
Haaland is the club's top scorer this season with 31 goals in all competitions and no player has scored more than him in the Premier League (20).
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However, City's record without the 23-year-old has been sensational, losing just once in the 13 games he has missed – a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
The return of Stones and Foden will also be heralded as a major boost, with the two players being among City's most important players this season.
Foden has elevated his game, scoring 22 goals and assisting 10 in all competitions and making him one of the favorites to win the PFA Player of the Year award.
Meanwhile, the Stones allowed Guardiola to push the defender into midfield to add another body in attack in a crucial tactical change this season.
The Catalan coach added: “We have had many problems with important players injured, but we are still there.
“We are in the final of the FA Cup, we reached the last stages of the Champions League and in the Premier League we are there.
“But you can go to the end like this and in one week lose all the titles, but the team has performed incredibly this season.”
