Man City hit with Haaland’s fitness doubt ahead of Champions League fixture

 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that he will have to wait for the doctor’s analysis before he can be assured of the presence and availability of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash with Young Boys at Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City won the first leg of the clash a fortnight ago with a 3-1 scoreline in Bern, Switzerland, where Haaland scored a brace.

The Norwegian striker featured in subsequent games, including another 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the Manchester derby, but only featured for 45 minutes in Saturday’s 6-1 victory over Bournemouth in the Premier League, where he was replaced by Phil Foden raising doubts about his availability for the Champions League clash which the manager has now confirmed.

“We will speak with the doctor – I don’t know. I will listen to the doctors. If [the doctor] says he is ready and does not have pain, I will consider him to play. Yesterday, he told me he felt much better than the day of the game. We will try to finish and qualify for February and the next stage. It means a lot to the club. Being there is a success. It’s so important, more than you can imagine, because we can park the car until February and focus on the Premier League and others. We have to close it on Tuesday.” said Guardiola.

Manchester City sits at the top of Group G with nine points from three games, while Young Boys are tied with Crvena Zvezda on points with one each in the third and fourth, respectively.

TUESDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2023 UCL FIXTURES:

Borussia Dortmund v Newcastle

Atl Madrid v Celtic

Man City v Young Boys

Shakhtar Donetsk v Barcelona

Lazio v Feyenoord

AC Milan v PSG

Red Star Belgrade v RB Leipzig

FC Porto v Royal Antwerp

Daniel Ademiju Idowu