Guardiola Rules Out Erling Haaland From Newcastle United Vs Man City Clash

The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that his talismanic striker, Erling Haaland has been ruled out of their Premier League clash against Newcastle United.

Erling Haaland who had an extraordinary debut season at Manchester City during the 2022-2023 season hasn’t featured in the club’s games in the last nine matches.

Recall that Haaland had a foot injury in the team’s defeat to Aston Villa last month, but he appeared to be recovering during the Christmas break.

Before returning to team training, the 23-year-old Norwegian star trained in Saudi Arabia on an individual basis. He also went to the Club World Cup with the Treble winners but didn’t play.

After missing the previous four league games, Haaland is still the frontrunner to win the Premier League Golden Boot. He will remain on the sidelines against Newcastle United on Saturday night.

“Jack [Grealish] has been sick and hopefully today he is back,” Pep Guardiola said. “Erling is out and John [Stones] is out.”

The good news for City is that the club’s talismanic midfielder Kevin De Bruyne might start against Newcastle after recovering from a four-month injury layoff.

Guardiola said: “Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start and I can see he is very good and the trip to Abu Dhabi [next week] will do him good too.

“I saw him yesterday and he feels good and dynamic. He played well, better than the sessions before Huddersfield. He’s getting better.”

Should City win at St. James’ Park they may cut the advantage over leaders Liverpool to just two points. The Premier League game will kick off at 7:30 p.m.