Haaland training before Man City's clash vs. Tottenham
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Erling Haaland faces a late fitness test to see if he has recovered from a knee injury ahead Manchester City's Premier League game against Tottenham on Wednesday.
Haaland missed City's losses to Real Madrid and Liverpool last week because of the injury.
City manager Pep Guardiola said the Norway striker would be assessed after taking part in training on Tuesday.
“Tonight, we will know it after training. I hope (he will be available) but I don’t know yet,” he said. “He feels better but the last two games he could not play.”
City has struggled without leading scorer Haaland — going out of the Champions League after a 3-1 loss to Madrid and then losing 2-0 at home against Premier League leader Liverpool.
Haaland, who has been the league's leading scorer in the past two seasons, has 27 goals in all competitions this term.
That includes 19 league goals — six behind top scorer Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
Four time defending champion City is 20 points adrift of Liverpool, having played a game less. It looks set to relinquish its title and faces a battle just to secure a top four finish and Champions League qualification.
Guardiola's team is currently fourth on goal difference ahead of Newcastle and just two points ahead of eighth-placed Aston Villa.
Tottenham is 12th after enduring a troubled season under coach Ange Postecoglou, but has beaten City twice already this term — including a 4-0 rout in November.
“They’re a fantastic team, with individual quality,” Guardiola said.
Tottenham's injured quartet Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero are all expected to return to action within the next 10 days, Postecoglou said.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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