Ahead of the Champions League contest, many fans were focussed on the injury situation of their goalscoring machine, Erling Haaland.
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Manchester City visit Red Star Belgrade in what will be a game of little significance for the defending champions. City have already clinched the top spot after winning all five games in their Champions League group till now. On the back of winning the competition for the first time last season, Man City have started the new campaign the way they ended the last one. So far, City have breezed their way through in the competition.
Ahead of the Champions League contest, many fans were focussed on the injury situation of their goalscoring machine, Erling Haaland. He was not present for the game against Luton Town at the weekend and now has not travelled with the squad to Belgrade. Ahead of the contest against Red Star Belgrade, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola provided an update on Haaland’s situation.
The Man City manager even spoke about the striker’s chances of being present against Crystal Palace in the Premier League in the coming weekend. Guardiola was asked whether Haaland has trained since the Luton match. The manager, quoted on the club’s website, said, “No. He’ll be back I think Thursday. We’ll see how he feels. I don’t know [if he will play v Palace] right now. Next press conference I could be more precise about his conditions.”
Ever-reliable midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is another player who has been out injured for a while now. Speaking about him, Guardiola said, “Of course I’d prefer Kevin is with us. Of course we need him. You have to handle the situation with the players we have. I’ve said many times, when we have stable positions with players like last season, the cover with the players you mention. Of course, the word isn’t miss something but change something and you need time to adapt. But I have the feeling so far is good, we don’t drop too much. But we have standards, we lost one game in six or seven so it’s a big disaster. The others we draw but perform really well.”
The final Champions League group game could see Stefan Ortega Moreno getting a chance to play in goal for Man City. Since Ederson is not part of City’s travelling squad, it is highly likely that Ortega Moreno will start on Wednesday night. When asked if he is expected to play in the upcoming game, the goalkeeper said, “I think so, yes. I’m happy for every game I get here. Tomorrow could be the next chance to show my best version. First of all, we have a lot of quality in this team, every session is on a high level. I’m not in the beginning of my 20s, I have experience to handle it. It’s about being ready every time. This is my key to be ready then it’s not so difficult.”
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