The Norwegian sensation has been battling with a groin injury, leaving fans wondering whether he will feature against the Reds. The answer to that question has finally been revealed.

The Premier League is back, and the beloved English top flight returns to action after the dreaded international break with a highly-anticipated showdown: Manchester City vs Liverpool.

The defending champions get Matchweek 29 underway with Saturday's early kick-off against their former rivals. While Klopp's men are not competing with the Cityzens for the title, a spot that has now been claimed by Arsenal, the Reds remain a deadly side that can gravely influence this season's title race.

Due to the importance of this fixture, all eyes have been on Erling Haaland and whether the league's top scorer will be fit in time for the clash with Liverpool. The Norwegian ace suffered a groin injury in the FA Cup victory over Burnley, where he scored a hat-trick, and sat out his national team's crucial UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Spain and Georgia.

Speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola refused to rule out the 22-year-old despite his absence from Thursday's training session, with the Spanish tactician stating that a late decision will be made on his availability.

While the official squad is yet to be revealed by Manchester City, Haaland's availability has finally been revealed. The deadly striker is neither in the starting lineup nor the matchday squad for Saturday's crucial tie.

Initially, his absence from the starting lineup was revealed by Team News and Ticks, a reliable source on social media for the latest Premier League team news. Manchester City News later reported that the former Dortmund sensation was left out of the squad completely, which means he is yet to recover completely from his injury.

Sam Lee of the Athletic later revealed Pep's front three for this fixture. With Haaland out, the manager opted to play World Cup winner Julian Alvarez down the middle, with Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish starting out wide.

This is a major blow for the home side. While Alvarez is an excellent deputy, Manchester City wanted a fully-fit squad for this fixture as they cannot afford to slip up against Liverpool.

De Bruyne and Co. are currently eight points behind league leaders Arsenal and could see that gap increase to double digits (10 or 11) were they to draw or—even worse—lose to Klopp's men.

The Gunners, meanwhile, face Leeds later this same day and while Arteta's side have a handful of fitness concerns to deal with, the Gunners are expected to come away from that clash with Javi Gracia's relegation-battling side with all three points.

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Manchester City 4 - 1 Liverpool

April 1, 2023 7:30amEtihad Stadium (Manchester)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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