Pep Guardiola has confirmed that a certain Manchester City player will not be fit to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side will be hoping to bounce back against City, having drawn to Burnley 1-1 in their previous Premier League outing.
The last time these two teams played against each other was in October when Pep Guardiola’s men beat Brighton 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
The scoreline suggests that it was a tight game.
But in reality, City did not break a sweat during the contest until Ansu Fati got his name on the score sheet.
A one-goal lead is always a risk, even for a team of Manchester City’s ilk.
Guardiola says Man City player is “not ready” for Brighton clash
However, this time around, the clash between both sides means much more.
For Manchester City, they would be hoping to get the three points in the bag, as Liverpool beat Fulham 3-1 on the weekend and Arsenal defeated Wolves and Chelsea since their last league game.
As a result, Jurgen Klopp’s side has a one-point lead over City while Mikel Arteta and Co. have a four-point advantage.
Liverpool have played one game more than Manchester City while Arsenal have played two, having demolished Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday.
City’s trip to the Amex Arena is the first out of their remaining away games this season.
As a result, they would be hoping to start this run by getting a win under their belt.
With Manchester City set to go toe-to-toe with Brighton, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Erling Haaland is still not fit to play, while John Stones and Phil Foden are.
“Erling [Haaland] is not ready for tomorrow and the other two are ready”, he said about the £51 million [via HaytersTV].
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was also asked in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s contest against Brighton whether the injury suffered by Erling Haaland was a concern.
“No, it’s not what I’m concerned [about], it’s not a big issue, it’s not allowed for this game.”
Huge opportunity for Alvarez to make a statement with Haaland being unfit
With Pep Guardiola confirming Erling Haaland is ruled out to play against Brighton, Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez has a massive opportunity to impress.
Against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, City’s number 19 put in a display to forget.
But Julian Alvarez has a chance to give Pep Guardiola a potential selection headache if he fares well against Brighton with Manchester City goalscorer Erling Haaland being unfit.
Haaland has not been at his best since first being injured and if Alvarez puts in a convincing performance, who knows if Guardiola will consider giving him more of a chance up front in the following games?
The best that the World Cup winner can do is step up to the plate against the Seagulls.