Pep Guardiola was typically guarded when assessing Erling Haaland‘s chances of playing in Manchester City’s Premier League match against Fulham this weekend.
Haaland has missed City’s last two fixtures against Leicester and Sevilla after receiving a knock to his foot in last month’s Champions League game with his former club Borussia Dortmund. Guardiola also revealed that Haaland had been struggling with the flu and general fatigue.
The 22-year-old is the most popular player in Fantasy Premier League this season and managers would have been pleased to see pictures of him training with his team-mates on Thursday.
But while Guardiola suggested on Friday that Haaland could make a return, he was vague enough to leave anxious FPL managers guessing ahead of the Gameweek 15 deadline.
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“He is much better, we will decide today [for Fulham],” Guardiola responded when asked about his fitness. “It’s a good step. He’s started training and now we have training this afternoon and we will see.
Pressed on what he has to consider before recalling Haaland, Guardiola added: “Himself, his opinion, the doctor’s opinion. If he’s good for 90 minutes or just less minutes, we will see after training.”
Focus on Fulham!
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 3, 2022pic.twitter.com/clmYTDLGdI
Adding a further layer of intrigue to the situation, Guardiola also rebuffed the idea that Haaland’s understudy Julian Alvarez may be unable to start a third game in the space of seven days.
“He’s so young, he’s so young,” Guardiola said. “At that age [21] you can play every day.”
Although Guardiola’s comments about Haaland’s fitness sounded promising, they were also very similar to what he said before last weekend’s match against Leicester.
“He feels better but we will train this afternoon and we will assess in a few hours,” Guardiola said on 28 October.
“We will see how he feels in his foot and after we will decide. I will know in two hours if he’s able to play or not.”
Rinse and repeat, Pep, rinse and repeat…
What should FPL managers do?
Although Guardiola did not give a definitive answer on Haaland’s availability, it is encouraging for FPL bosses that the club published pictures and video of him training in the build-up to the game after not doing so for either the Leicester or Sevilla matches. An additional week of rest has hopefully done Haaland the world of good.
The advice this week is the same as last week: keep him and cross your fingers that he plays. As well as Fulham have equipped themselves in the Premier League, this is precisely the type of match-up that FPL managers want Haaland for. He has been an unstoppable force at the Etihad, rattling in 12 league goals in only six appearances.
Haaland’s home form is so strong that it is even worth captaining him in the hope that he does indeed start as frankly, standout alternatives are few and far between. Four of the five other “big six” clubs are facing each other this week, with Chelsea hosting Arsenal and Spurs taking on Liverpool, which reduces the appeal of their best FPL assets.
As last weekend highlighted, though, careful consideration should be given to selecting a vice-captain in the event that Haaland does not feature.
Given the fixtures, another City star would be preferable. Kevin De Bruyne looks to be the safest option – if you can afford his hefty £12.5m price tag – as he only played the final 20 minutes against Sevilla on Wednesday and Joao Cancelo is perhaps the third-best pick, ahead of Phil Foden, after coming on for the last five minutes in midweek.
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Newcastle’s assets offer attractive alternatives. Callum Wilson has a yellow flag on FPL after Eddie Howe stated that he has been suffering with an illness, but seems likely to play regardless, while Miguel Almiron and Kieran Trippier offer in-form alternatives.
FPL team news round-up
Eddie Howe had this to say about Wilson: “I think he’s OK. He’s had a little cold. It’s funny how everything gets around, doesn’t it, especially when you’re doing a podcast [Wilson’s The Footballer’s Podcast with Michail Antonio] I suppose! But yeah, fingers crossed he’ll be OK.”
Son Heung-min will not play for Spurs again until after the World Cup after undergoing surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye, following a collision with Marseille’s Chancel Mbemba. The South Korean faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will be able to feature for his country at the tournament in Qatar. Spurs will also be without Cristian Romero and Richarlison but Dejan Kulusevski could be involved.
Erik ten Hag has limited attacking options for Manchester United’s game against Aston Villa with doubts over Antony, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial, while Bruno Fernandes is also suspended for one match.
Graham Potter has a couple of issues to contend with in defence with Kepa Arrizabalaga unlikely to play before the World Cup due to a foot injury and Ben Chilwell set to undergo a scan on the hamstring injury that forced him off against Dinamo Zagreb.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney is unavailable to face Nottingham Forest due to suspension after accumulating five yellow cards, while Diego Costa is also banned after receiving a straight red card for head-butting Ben Mee during Wolves’ draw with the Bees last weekend.
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