Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, thinks he might have to take a chance on Erling Haaland’s readiness for Saturday’s Premier League match against Liverpool.
Haaland, 22, withdrew from Norway’s team due to a groin injury sustained during City’s FA Cup victory over Burnley. He will be evaluated after Friday’s practice.
Phil Foden, who underwent appendix surgery on Sunday, is expected to miss up to three weeks and will undoubtedly miss City’s games.
Guardiola remarked, “Life is risks and sometimes you have to take it,”
“The physicians will monitor the player’s condition, specifically.
“He has scored an astounding number of goals, and we have scored many this season. But since we’ve been here, we’ve consistently scored a lot of goals.
Haaland, who paid £51 million to go from Borussia Dortmund to City in June, has 42 goals this year in 37 outings, including 28 in 26 Premier League contests.
With one game remaining, City is eight points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
On April 11, City will face German champions Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Foden might then make a comeback. The rematch is scheduled for April 19.
“Liverpool can defeat anyone”
Between them, Liverpool and City have won the last five Premier League championships, and they frequently faced off against each other in those competitions.
However struggling this year, Jurgen Klopp’s team is in sixth, seven points behind the top four.
They are still a very good team, according to Guardiola. “My viewpoint stays the same.
“They can defeat everyone, just as we can.
“This season the biggest rival is another one but whatever happens in the future they are a big rival.”
It’s crucial that we fight
With Guardiola’s team still vying for three titles, Saturday’s match marks the beginning of a key stretch for City.
On April 22, they take on Championship team Sheffield United in the FA Cup semifinals in addition to the Premier League title match and Champions League quarterfinal.
This means that City still has at least 13 games left to play this season, and if they win both the FA Cup and the Champions League, they may play as many as 17 over the next 10 weeks.
They won the domestic triple crown in 2019 and aim to follow in the footsteps of their next-door rivals Manchester United, who achieved the triple crown and the Champions League in 1999.
Because winning the Triple is so difficult, just one team has ever done so, according to Guardiola. “That is why we don’t consider it,”
We have a difficult schedule after this game, a lengthy week, and this game.
The most crucial factor is that we are still competing in all contests, which is fantastic.
“Everything we’ve experienced in the past has a propensity to fade. While doing it for 10 or 11 months is extremely challenging, we are still doing it.
