Erling Haaland has been named in the starting line-up for Manchester City for Wednesday evening’s match against Nottingham Forest.
The striker was a shock omission from the matchday squad at Leeds last time out, with the City boss confirming pre-match that the Norwegian had been ruled out with a minor injury picked up in training.
“Two days ago, in the last moments of training, there were some problems,” Gurdiola said. “A little injury.”
Haaland, the Premier League top goalscorer this term, was hardly missed at Elland Road, as Antoine Semenyo struck the winner to temporarily move to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table.
On Tuesday, Guardiola indicated that the Norway international was “feeling much better” and he has evidently recovered sufficiently to lead the line against Forest.
Elsewhere on the injury front, though, long-term absentees Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic remain out while Nico O’Reilly misses out as well after being forced off with an ankle knock in Yorkshire.
Otherwise, wingers Jeremy Doku and Savinho are back from their own lay-offs to add extra depth on the flanks but both start on the bench, with Semenyo, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden supporting Haaland in attack.
Behind them are the midfield pairing of Bernardo Silva and Rodri, while Rayan Ait-Nouri starts at left-back with Matheus Nunes continuing on the opposite flank plus Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi the centre-back pairing of choice once again.
Man City XI: (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Silva; Semenyo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Doku, Gonzalez, Savinho, Khusanov
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date and time: 7.30pm GMT on Wednesday, March 4, 2026
How to watch: TNT Sports
