Man City to assess Haaland fitness ahead of Leicester clash

Manchester City will assess Erling Haaland ahead of their Premier League clash with Leicester City after his half-time withdrawal against Borussia Dortmund in midweek.

Haaland’s return to the Signal Iduna Park was ended prematurely on Wednesday due to a fever and a knock.

City travel to face the Foxes in Saturday’s early kick-off for a game that gives them the chance to put pressure on Arsenal, who host Nottingham Forest on Sunday, by leapfrogging them at the top of the table.

But it is still unclear whether they will have Haaland at their disposal.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the visit to the King Power Stadium, Pep Guardiola said of his star striker: “He feels better but we will train this afternoon [Friday] and we will assess in a few hours.

“We will see how he is feeling and then we will decide.”

Haaland has made a blistering start to life in the Premier League following his move from Dortmund.

He has scored 17 goals in 11 Premier League appearances this season, already the joint-second most by a Norwegian player in a single campaign (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 18 in 1996-97). His goals have been worth 11 points, the most for a City player in a single campaign since Raheem Sterling in 2017-18 (also 11).

Should he be unable to feature against Leicester, Julian Alvarez would likely take his place at the heart of the attack.

The 22-year-old has scored twice in nine league games for City, of which he has started just one.

Despite his limited time in the XI, Guardiola has complete faith in Alvarez’s ability to fill the void.

“If Haaland doesn’t play, then Alvarez is the natural first option to replace him. I don’t judge Julian on how many goals he has scored,” added Guardiola.

“Play 90 minutes every game and he will score goals, maybe not like Erling, but he will score goals.”