Manchester City striker Erling Haaland(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Erling Haaland feels ‘much better’ but will be assessed after training on Tuesday before deciding if he will be able to play against Nottingham Forest. Haaland missed the trip to Leeds with a minor injury he had picked up in training on Thursday and the City manager could not confirm after the game if he would be fit in time for the next week.
The Norwegian remains a doubt for the fixture but City will hope to include him given the rest he picked up over the weekend. The same goes for Nico O’Reilly, who limped off with an ankle problem in the 1-0 win over Leeds but was able to be involved in a recovery session on Sunday.
“He feels much better but we didn’t train yesterday. Now we have training and will decide today,” said Guardiola of Haaland. Otherwise, it is a positive picture for City on the injury front as they look to give themselves the best chance of silverware this season.
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Jeremy Doku returned to the squad for the first time in the Premier League game at Leeds and Savinho came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance since picking up his injury on New Year’s Day. That leaves Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol as the only two sidelined players, with Guardiola optimistic that Kovacic has started training again.
City are looking to close the gap on Arsenal on Wednesday night with both teams playing at the same time. City host Forest while Arsenal travel to Brighton, the team that beat Forest at the weekend; five points separate the two two teams, albeit Arsenal have played one game more.
After Forest, City have two big trips to prepare for with crunch games against Newcastle in the FA Cup on Saturday and then the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash in Madrid. Haaland has already scored at the Bernabeu but is goalless against Newcastle in four games this season.
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