Pep Guardiola has provided an update on Erling Haaland, who has been sidelined since March. The 24-year-old striker suffered an ankle injury during Manchester City's 2-1 win over Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarterfinal.
Haaland returned to the matchday squad last week; he was an unused substitute in a 1-0 win over Wolves at the Etihad Stadium. As the race for UEFA Champions League qualification builds a head of steam, City secured three crucial points.
With three games to go, Guardiola's side sit third in the Premier League on 64 points, meanwhile, Arsenal are second on 67 points. They're closely followed by Newcastle United and Chelsea in fourth and fifth, respectively, on 63 points.
Speaking to reporters ahead of what will be a crucial weekend in the race for top five, Guardiola revealed that Haaland is 'ready and fit'. The City boss said: "He is ready, he is fit. [If he will] start, we will see tomorrow."
Haaland could make his first start in the Premier League since March, but City could still be without four big names. John Stones, who picked up a thigh problem against Real Madrid in February, hasn't been spotted in training recently.
Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and Rodri are also long-term absentees. On the trio, Guardiola added: "Still not available. They’ve started training with us partially, but they’re still not available."
With so much at stake, Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca understand the gravity of this weekend's results. Speaking to reporters at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, the Arsenal boss said: "We have to be able now to go immediately into a different competition and perform at the highest level, that's it."
Arteta, who will lock horns with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, added: "You cannot win the Premier League, that's clear, but the last 16 days that we have with three games to go, make sure that we make ourselves proud at least to compete and end in the manner that we deserve."
Chelsea will face Newcastle United at St. James' Park a few hours prior. Speaking to reporters at Cobham training ground, Maresca said: "It's a big one, it's a huge one.
"United will be a big one, Forest will be a big one. Now we have three more games, all of them are going to be big games. For sure, Sunday is a chance to start in the right way.
"We are in a good run, in a good mood and hopefully we can play a good game and win the game."
On the early-kick, the Chelsea boss said: "It's not the ideal situation. It's 12 o'clock in the morning, it's first thing in the morning, but we need to play the game. So we need to adapt immediately, prepare the game in the best way and as I said, hopefully we can continue our good moment."
On Alexander Isak, Maresca said: "I think Isak is a top player but it's not enough. There are more players so we need to work as a team and we need to stop them as a team."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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