Man City team news – Erling Haaland to be benched as Grealish starts

Guardiola gives Man City team news update ahead of Liverpool match

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola seemed unsure over whether Erling Haaland will be fit for the club’s crunch Premier League clash against Liverpool. A groin injury saw the top-flight’s most prolific marksman miss the international break – making him a major doubt for Liverpool’s visit to the Etihad. 

Express Sport looks at how City could line up should Haaland fail to make the starting 11. 

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Brazilian stalwart Ederson is comfortably City’s first-choice goalkeeper. The 29-year-old has won just five of his 13 appearances against Liverpool. 

Defence: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake

Guardiola has plenty of options in defence. The Spaniard could choose to move Kyle Walker into central defence and utilise the teenage full-back Rico Lewis, who has often been trusted in City’s biggest games. 

But Guardiola could instead opt for the defensive solidity of Walker at right-back with Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte at centre-back. With limited options at left-back, Nathan Ake could play on the left of a back four. 

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Midfield: Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan

Kevin De Bruyne seemed to hit form in the weeks before the international break. The 31-year-old shone in big wins over Red Bull Leipzig and Burnley. 

De Bruyne then scored an excellent goal for Belgium in a 3-2 victory against Germany last week. He has responded emphatically to Guardiola’s calls for more from his best creative outlet. 

City will be without Phil Foden for at least a few weeks. The playmaker was forced to undergo surgery to remove his appendix during the international break. 

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Attack: Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish

Guardiola’s biggest issue comes in attack, where Haaland might need to sit out one of his side’s biggest games of the season. The Norwegian ruled himself out of international duty after suffering a groin injury in City’s FA Cup win over Burnley. 

On Friday, Guardiola said a decision over Haaland’s involvement against Liverpool would be taken at the last minute. “Erling is recovering. This afternoon is the last training session then we’ll see how he feels,” the 52-year-old said.

“Yesterday I spoke with him and he feels good. But we will see. Life is risk in these stages. You have to take it. We score a lot of goals this season. He scored an incredible amount of goals. But in the past always we scored a lot of goals.”

Julian Alvarez could be the man trusted to help City overcome Liverpool and maintain their title challenge. Jack Grealish has scored in big games against Manchester United and Arsenal this season – the England winger will need to take on some responsibility in Haaland’s absence.

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