Erling Haaland is back in the starting lineup for Manchester City’s trip to Southampton in the Premier League this evening.
A groin injury has kept the Norwegian out for a number of weeks, spanning the international break and City’s win over Liverpool last Saturday.
Haaland returned to training on Wednesday and he starts at St Mary’s, with Pep Guardiola opting against saving him for the midweek visit of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Asked for an update on Haaland’s fitness on Friday, Guardiola said: “He trained the last two days, really good. He will be ready.”
The big games are coming thick and fast for City, who then take the trip to Bavaria after facing Leicester before an FA Cup semi-final with Sheffield United and crunch showdown against title rivals Arsenal.
Guardiola is still without Phil Foden as he continues his recovery from an operation to remove his appendix.
John Stones gets the nod again in the flexible right-back role, with Nathan Ake on the left. Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez start either side of Haaland, with Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez among those on the bench.
Man City XI: Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Bernardo, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis
