Manchester City’s Premier League title bid has suffered a significant blow as star striker Erling Haaland has been ruled out of Thursday’s crucial clash at Brighton. The Norwegian international is yet to recover from a muscle injury sustained in the Champions League quarter-final exit against Real Madrid last week.
Haaland, who has scored an impressive 20 Premier League goals this season, missed City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday due to the same injury. The champions will be without their leading scorer as they look to close the gap on leaders Arsenal, who currently hold a four-point advantage with two games in hand.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, while acknowledging that Haaland’s injury is not serious, expressed optimism that the striker could return in time for Sunday’s game against Nottingham Forest. However, the absence of Haaland is a major setback for City, who are eagerly chasing down Arsenal in a gripping title race that is approaching its final stages.
