Will Erling Haaland Be Fit for Man City vs. Liverpool?

“Finally!”

Amid a barrage of questions about Manchester City’s seismic guilty verdict and the potential fall out from the 100-plus breaches of Premier League financial regulations, Enzo Maresca was relieved to be faced with an inquiry which he had a definitive (and positive) answer for: Erling Haaland will be fit and available for Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.

On top of all the talk of unprecedented points deductions, transfer bans and Premier League expulsion, City fans had to briefly deal with the more immediate prospect of an injured Haaland. The Norway international could not finish his nation’s final fixture of the extended fall break, hobbling to the side before his manager bemoaned the “insane” schedule which had overloaded his star.

However, Haaland’s exit has proven to only be precautionary. All he needed was a few days in the sun before making his return to Manchester.

“He’s good. He’s good,” Maresca repeated, relieved to finally land upon a new topic. “He went to Marbella, two, three days off, play golf, recovery, and ready for Anfield. He is good. Thank you.”

Man City Injuries, Absences for Liverpool Clash

Phil Foden looking embarrassed. — Phil Foden will not be involved. | Carl Recine/Getty Images

Maresca was only permitted a brief break from the charges chat to discuss Haaland’s fitness and so did not provide an update on any of City’s other doubts. Antoine Semenyo picked up an ankle injury which kept him sidelined for Ghana’s fixtures this fall while Nico O’Reilly had to pull out of England’s camp with what Thomas Tuchel described as a “minor issue.” Both remain doubts for Sunday’s test.

Phil Foden will definitely not be involved. The overlooked England international is serving the third and final match of the three-game ban he received after petulantly kicking Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes in the chest during last month’s derby.

Foden’s absence could be balanced by the full return of Jérémy Doku. City’s bag of tricks and jinks on the flanks may be in line for his first Premier League start of a season derailed by a calf injury sustained against Arsenal in the Community Shield. Doku was left off Belgium’s roster for the fall fixtures but did make a cameo against Sunderland before the Premier League shutters came down last month.

How Man City’s Players Will Approach Anfield Challenge

Erling Haaland celebrating. — Erling Haaland had a happy trip to Anfield last season. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

“It will be a tough game for sure, tough test,” Maresca admitted of the challenge facing his players at Liverpool’s inhospitable home ground. The Reds were denied the 2013–14 title by Manchester City during the period under investigation while Jürgen Klopp’s teams were repeatedly and narrowly pipped to multiple Premier League crowns in the following years. If there is any set of fans most eager to launch an audio assault on City’s players, it’s those who will assemble at Anfield.

“We need to be ready,” Maresca warned. “The focus has to be the game, but we know the environment in Anfield is nice. It will probably be even worse because of the situation. It will be our duty to do our best and win the game.

“Absolutely we can face the pressure. We have players who played in a similar situation. Enzo Fernández played in Argentina, it's always every game like going to Anfield. It's not a problem.”

“Just try to manage the noise,” was Maresca’s approach, echoing the sentiment Haaland had offered the day before. “It’s something serious but at the same time we just need to manage that and focus on what we can do and what we can control, which is try to control the game in the best possible game, go to Anfield and win the game.”

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