Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland is fit and available to play in Sunday’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.
The prolific Norwegian was unable to extend his impressive 12-game scoring streak for club and country last weekend, as he drew a blank in City’s **1-0 defeat**away against Aston Villa.
Haaland had a late second-half goal disallowed for offside and was seen in some discomfort shortly after following a nasty collision with the post.
The 25-year-old was then left out of Guardiola’s squad on Wednesday when Man City came from behind to beat Swansea City 3-1 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
However, Haaland has since been pictured in first-team training this week and to the delight of Citizens supporters, Guardiola simply replied “Yeah” when confirming the striker’s availability for Sunday at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
Man City’s No.9 is expected to be recalled to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and will be looking to begin another scoring run after failing to find the net for just the second time in this season’s Premier League against Villa last time out.
However, scoring against Bournemouth has not come naturally to Haaland; of the 23 teams the Norwegian has faced in the Premier League, only against Newcastle (447) does he have a worse minutes-per-goal average than he does against Bournemouth, scoring only once in 439 minutes against the Cherries.
Manchester City's Rodri pictured on September 18, 2025
Guardiola confirms Rodri could return for Man City against Bournemouth
Meanwhile, Guardiola has provided a positive update on star midfielder Rodri who, like Haaland, was also spotted in first-team training earlier this week.
The Spain international has been struggling for fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury last season, playing the full 90 minutes in just two of his seven appearances in all competitions in the 2025-26 campaign.
Rodri has missed Man City’s last three games since tweaking his hamstring in a Premier League victory at Brentford before October's international break, but Guardiola has revealed that he could be ready to feature in some capacity against Bournemouth.
“I think he’ll be ready to help,” said the Catalan coach. “I don’t know if from the beginning, but hopefully he can be with us."
Asked how desperate Rodri is to return, Guardiola added: "And 18 more players too. Everybody is desperate to play. He has been out a few times and we all know how important he is for us."
With Rodri not expected to start against Bournemouth, either Nico Gonzalez or Tijjani Reijnders is set to begin in a deep-lying midfield role, the latter played there against Aston Villa before the former was introduced as a second-half substitute.
Mateo Kovacic could also be in contention to feature against Bournemouth after he was not fully fit to play in the midweek win over Swansea. A start on Sunday is considered unlikely for the Croatian, though.
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