Erling Haaland fit to face Newcastle United, confirms Pep Guardiola
What's the story
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that striker Erling Haaland is fit and ready to play in their upcoming Premier League match against Newcastle United. The game will be played at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening. Guardiola's confirmation comes after Haaland missed out on City's FA Cup victory due to an injury sustained during a previous match against Fulham.
Performance review
Haaland's goal-scoring form this season
Despite his recent injury, Haaland has had an impressive season with 29 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions. He leads the Premier League's Golden Boot race with 22 goals, five ahead of his nearest challenger. However, his fitness has been a concern in recent weeks and his scoring streak has slowed down with just four goals in 13 appearances since January.
Match strategy
Updates on other players and focus on Newcastle
Guardiola has also provided updates on other players, including Jeremy Doku and Savinho. He said, "Doku is not training and Savinho's ready." Despite Newcastle's recent form with three consecutive wins, Guardiola remains focused on the upcoming match. He said, "12 games is a lot like I said before. Newcastle is my only concern."
Title focus
Guardiola downplays title race talk
Guardiola also downplayed any talk of the title race, saying he hasn't spoken about it with his players. "I didn't talk about the table, I didn't talk about the position. I could not care less. It's 12 games left, it's an eternity," he said. This shows his singular focus on each game as it comes rather than getting ahead of himself in terms of future matches and potential outcomes.