Pep Guardiola indicated that Erling Haaland will not play against Sevilla as he recovers from his foot injury but may return against Fulham.
Haaland suffered a bruised ligament in his foot in the Champions League draw with Dortmund, having to be substituted at half-time to avoid doing any further damage. And the pain was substantial enough for him to miss City's trip to Leicester entirely, the first Premier League game of the season that the Norwegian has not started.
City dominated Leicester but struggled to make it show on the scoreboard before Kevin De Bruyne's perfect free-kick in the second half gave Pep Guardiola's side the three points that will see them top of the league for at least one night before Arsenal play Nottingham Forest. Whether Haaland will be available for the match next weekend remains to be seen.
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"I'm pretty sure [he will] not [play] against Sevilla first because we are already qualified. Against Fulham, we will see. We have six or seven days until then so we will see."
Julian Alvarez struggled for opportunities against Leicester playing in Haaland's place, but Guardiola pointed out afterwards that the No.9 had failed to score against Bournemouth when the opponents lined up in a similar style.
"Nobody knows what would have happened with Erling Haaland. Erling Haaland played against Bournemouth in the shape that Leicester played with five in the back, four in the build-up plus [Jamie] Vardy dropping and he's struggled," he said.
"It's difficult. The best I can say is don't get frustrated when you go and attack and don't be in the position where you need to be."
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