The end of the season has brought some welcome injury news for Manchester City — star striker Erling Haaland is fully fit and ready to return after nearly six weeks on the sidelines.
The Norwegian forward had been out with an ankle injury, missing a significant chunk of the run-in. At one point, he was strongly in contention for the Golden Boot. But his absence has seen him drop to third in the race, behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (28 goals) and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak (23), while Haaland sits on 21.
In addition to Haaland’s return, Oscar Bobb and Nathan Aké have resumed training with the squad. However, they’re not quite ready to feature in matches yet. Still, having their main goal threat back has given City boss Pep Guardiola a timely boost in the push to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
City travel to face bottom-placed Southampton on Saturday — a team that has only managed two wins all season and already been relegated. Still, Guardiola is approaching the match with full focus.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, he said:
“(Haaland) is ready to play, he is fit. Whether he starts or not, we’ll decide (Saturday). Rodri is still unavailable. Oscar and Nathan have started training with us, but they won’t be available just yet.”
The reigning champions of the past four Premier League seasons, City have already fallen out of this year’s title race. With three rounds to go, they sit third — just three points behind Arsenal and one ahead of Newcastle United.
Even against already-relegated Southampton, Guardiola isn’t taking anything for granted.
“We start 0-0 and it’s a big game for us. Three matches to go. We have a lot of respect for them.”
“When you’re not the champion, your target becomes qualifying for the next Champions League. If we win all three games, we’ll make it. It’s in our hands.”
