Pep Guardiola has left Fantasy Football managers sweating after remaining tight-lipped on the availability of Erling Haaland for tonight's clash between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Haaland was substituted at half time of City's 3-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend after receiving treatment during the first half for an injury to his right thigh. Despite City posting a cryptic photo of the striker on their official Twitter account of him seemingly training on Monday, Guardiola offered no hint as to whether he would be in contention.
The game in North London is a title showdown with Guardiola's side able to move above the Gunners on goal difference with a win, while Arsenal can open up significant breathing space with a game in hand if they come out on top. Here is everything we know on Haaland's potential availability:
Also read: 'I am ashamed of myself' - Guardiola apologises to Gerrard
Guardiola tight-lipped
Guardiola spoke about Haaland's current fitness status during his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday, refusing to confirm either way on his availability.
He said: "We train this afternoon. Right now I don’t know. Yesterday was about recovery from Aston Villa. That’s all."
City 'appear' to confirm Haaland fitness
City seemingly confirmed Haaland's availability for the match by posting a picture of him in training on Monday. They captioned a silhouette-type image with 'who's this then?', hinting his injury scare is nothing to worry about.
Will Haaland be fit to face Arsenal on Wednesday?
Guardiola seemed quietly confident that Haaland will be available after the win over Villa.. He said the Norwegian was suffering discomfort due to a knock rather than a muscle injury but while Guardiola is hopeful, Haaland will not play if there is any sort of risk attached.
He said: “Erling has a kick and we will see. We will assess him in the next few days to see how severe it is. At halftime I spoke with the doctors to see and they said maybe at 3-0 we don’t need to take a risk and I agreed with the doctors.
“If the score was more tight maybe I wouldn’t do it. I think he’s not injured but tomorrow we will see. Hopefully he can play there on Wednesday. If he’s not ready or it’s a risk he’s not going to play.”
FPL points and connotations
Haaland has been triple-captained by 354,503 managers in Gameweek 23 and after just four points at the weekend, a big return is needed to make using that chip worthwhile. He currently has an astonishing 85.4% ownership, but for good reason given he sits top of the points table with 175.
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