Manchester City are growing hopeful that Erling Haaland will be back tonight to face Tottenham.
Haaland was an unused substitute last week against Real Madrid in the Champions League and then left out of the squad completely for the defeat by Liverpool on Sunday, having failed to recover from a knee injury he picked up late on against Newcastle on February 15.
There is a quick three-day turnaround before City take on Spurs and Pep Guardiola says he will have decided on Tuesday evening if Haaland - who has been training - will be available in north London.
“Tonight, we will know it after training. I hope so but I don’t know yet,” the City boss told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“He feels better but the last two games he could not play. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Phil Foden was used as a false nine against Liverpool but struggled, so Guardiola could be tempted to use Omar Marmoush as a striker this time if Haaland does miss out again.
John Stones is facing a lengthy spell out with a thigh injury and could require surgery, while Manuel Akanji is set to be out for two months after going under the knife himself.
Ruben Dias came off the bench against Liverpool but is likely to start in north London, with January signing Abdukodir Khusanov potentially the one to make way.
It was a quiet afternoon for Kevin De Bruyne, who could drop out of the side and be replaced by Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan. Rodri is a long-term absentee, while Oscar Bobb is building his fitness after months out with a broken leg.
Predicted Man City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Savinho, Foden, Doku, Haaland
Injured: Akanji, Stones, Rodri
Doubts: Haaland, Bobb
Time and date: 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday February 26, 2025
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
