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Newcastle United have been handed a potential Champions League qualification boost following an injury to Manchester City top scorer Erling Haaland.
Haaland has scored 21 goals in the Premier League for Manchester City this season and has won the golden boot in each of the last two seasons.
But after leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches and with a protective boot following Manchester City’s 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth on Sunday, it has been confirmed that Haaland will miss the majority of the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
It rules Haaland out of the FA Cup semi-final clash against Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium as well as City’s crucial upcoming Premier League matches in the battle for Champions League qualification. It also means he will be a doubt for a potential FA Cup final, should City get there.
Pep Guardiola confirms Erling Haaland injury - up to ‘seven weeks’
On Tuesday, Man City head coach Pep Guardiola confirmed that Haaland would be facing an extended spell on the sidelines.
Guardiola said during a press conference this week: “The doctors told me Erling Haaland will be out between five and seven weeks.”
The 24-year-old has been prolific for Man City since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. The Norway international has scored 120 goals in 138 games for City since his arrival, helping them win the Champions League, FA Cup and two Premier League titles in the process.
But a third Premier League title is likely to pass Haaland by this season as City currently sit fifth in the table, 22 points behind leaders Liverpool with nine games left to play. Their battle this season is to simply ensure Champions League qualification - but they face plenty of competition.
The battle for Champions League qualification in the Premier League
Haaland’s injury will no doubt dent Man City’s chances of Champions League qualification and give a boost to the teams around them such as Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Chelsea are a point ahead of City in the table while Forest are nine points but have played a game more. Newcastle are a point behind City but have a game in hand. Man City host Leicester City and Newcastle host Brentford on Wednesday night while Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.
Fifth place is likely to be enough to secure Champions League football for Premier League sides this season due to UEFA’s new coefficient rules which award an extra group phase place for the two nations with the highest coefficients. England currently have the highest coefficient of any nation so far this season and are almost certain to be awarded an extra Champions League place.
Newcastle are the first English club to guarantee European qualification this season by winning the Carabao Cup and securing a place in the Conference League at least. But head coach Eddie Howe has set his ambitions higher with 10 games left to play.
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Newcastle United targeting Champions League football
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said on the prospect of Champions League qualification this season: “There's no doubting the power of Champions League football.
“It could be game-changing in terms of revenue and also in terms of what it means and the competition, and then of course the changes that you have to make to be ready for Champions League football.
“That changes everything, as we found last year to our cost to some degree with the extra games, so there's a lot to think about.
“But for us, qualifying for that is going to be very, very difficult. There are, as we know, 10 games, there are a lot of teams competing for those places. It's one of the tightest Premier Leagues that we've seen in recent times, very little between the teams competing fr those places, so it's going to come down to who is the most consistent.
“Of course, we want that to be us and in those 10 games, we are going to have to give everything to get there.”
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