Erling Haaland will be assessed on Saturday to see if he can make his Manchester City debut in their pre-season clash with Bayern Munich this weekend, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
New signing Haaland, 22, was an unused substitute in the friendly win over Club America in Houston on Wednesday, and Guardiola said after the game that he was never in line to feature. The Norwegian didn't warm up with the City team and wasn't dressed in training gear all night at NRG Park.
However, Guardiola indicated after that game that Haaland was in line to feature against Bayern this weekend, with the striker himself tweeting that he hoped to make his debut in Green Bay.
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And speaking ahead of the Bayern fixture, Guardiola confirmed how City planned to use Haaland in their second and final pre-season game before the Community Shield next week vs Liverpool.
Guardiola said: "If this afternoon [Friday] there is nothing wrong in the training session, or tonight he [doesn't] feel bad and falls out of bed and breaks his ankle, then he will play."
City have been managing Haaland's fitness and workload in training in the USA, with Guardiola confirming he had only trained twice in the build-up to the Club America win. He has been pictured in training since then, and trained in the open session at Lambeau Field on Friday after Guardiola's comments, as did Ruben Dias, who missed the first friendly on Wednesday with illness.
Guardiola also gave his verdict on the threat of Bayern, praising their existing players and the new signings they have added this summer.
"Bayern is always a strong team. Not just the titles, the quality of their play," he said. "They will find solutions. The heart of the team is still there – Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich. And Sadio Mane is an exceptional player in all senses.
"[Matthijs] De Ligt is a young player, but two really good signings. That’s normal. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, when they call, the players go. Other clubs have to pay a bit more money. These teams have the charisma and players will go there."
City face Bayern from 6pm local time in Wisconsin, or midnight in the UK on Sunday morning.
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