Pep Guardiola Names Wild Starting XI to Combat Man City Crisis

There were sweeping changes at both ends of the pitch for Man City’s must-win clash with Wolves on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola rung the changes on Saturday afternoon. | James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden were dropped while Marc Guéhi came in to make his Manchester City debut in a significantly altered starting XI for Saturday’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In this battle between Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City and rock-bottom Wolves, only one side came into the contest unbeaten in as many of four games. While Rob Edwards is inspiring a belated resurrection in the Black Country, Guardiola is suffering through a mini-crisis.

City compounded a four-game winless run with a disastrous Champions League defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday evening. In the wake of that run, Guardiola had some big decisions to make: none more so than the absence of the Premier League’s most prolific striker.

With Man City desperately short of form, Haaland and Foden have both been dropped from the starting XI by Pep Guardiola. pic.twitter.com/mClAEepG5h

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 24, 2026

It was the first time Haaland has been named as a substitute in a Premier League game in 267 days. A starter in City’s first 22 top-flight fixtures, the No. 9 last found himself on a top-flight substitute’s bench when Wolves last visited the Etihad Stadium on May 2, 2025.

The burly Norwegian boasts a staggering 26 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions for City this season yet has unmistakably slowed down in recent weeks. Haaland’s only goal in his eight matches since Christmas Day was a penalty against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Guardiola took the practically unprecedented approach of taking Haaland off with more than 10 minutes remaining of last weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, citing a need for more energy in the team during a limp 2–0 defeat.

Haaland could hardly be blamed for that dismal reverse—he scarcely touched the ball enough to have any impact, negative or otherwise—yet there’s no doubt that his energy reserves have been depleted by a gruelling schedule.

---

Haaland Running on Empty

Pep Guardiola (left) knows his side are struggling. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Heading into this weekend’s fixtures, Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta was the only forward across Europe’s top five leagues to have played more than Haaland this season, per BBC Sport.

The 25-year-old has been spared for most of City’s Carabao Cup run, but still boasts 31 appearances and 2,569 minutes of competitive action for his club side alone. Norway have also called upon the services of their record goalscorer on five occasions this seasons alone.

Haaland “took full responsibility” for City’s dismal 3–1 Champions League defeat to Bodø/Glimt in midweek after another ineffective outing inside the Arctic Circle, apologising to the supporters for his failure to score while chipping in with his fellow captains to cover the expenses racked up by the travelling fans.

---

Man City Lineup vs. Wolves (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders; Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Antoine Semenyo.

Substitutes: James Trafford (GK), Nathan Aké, Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Phil Foden, Divine Mukasa, Max Alleyne, Rico Lewis.

---