Guardiola Delighted with Haaland’s Return as City Aims for Champions League Qualification

Manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is in the mix to start against Southampton this weekend, having returned from an ankle injury that kept him out for nearly six weeks.

With an impressive tally of 21 goals in the Premier League, Haaland initially looked set to challenge for the Golden Boot but has now fallen to third place, trailing Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (28) and Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (23).

City currently hold third place in the league, three points behind second-placed Arsenal and just a point above Newcastle, with three matches remaining.

“(Haaland) is ready, he’s fit. We’ll decide on Saturday if he will start,” Guardiola told the press.

“Rodri is still unavailable. Oscar (Bobb) and Nathan (Ake) have returned to training with us, but they are not yet ready to play.”

On the other hand, Southampton languish at the bottom of the table with only 11 points and a mere two wins all season.

Having already been relegated, the south-coast club are under no pressure, and Guardiola is wary of their potential threat as City aims to secure a Champions League spot, with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa all in contention.

“We begin at 0-0 and this game is tremendously important for us. There are three matches left, and I have immense respect for them,” he remarked.

Reflecting on City’s current form, having secured four victories in a row, he shared, “This is the best run of results we’ve had. We did something similar earlier in the season, but I believe we can still improve.”

“When you’re not the champions, your goal is to qualify for the next Champions League season. If we achieve three wins, we’ll secure our place. It’s all in our hands.”

Despite earlier struggles this season, City still have a chance to finish second and claim the FA Cup, but Guardiola is keeping his focus narrow.

“I’m not considering that right now; my attention is solely on Southampton. I’ve been focused on them all week,” he stated.

“We’ll conduct our analysis at the end of the season.”