Erling Haaland has been surprisingly named on the bench for Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Wolves this afternoon.
City are looking to end their four-game winless run in the league as they take on bottom-of-the-table Wolves at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
But Pep Guardiola has decided to ring the changes for after his side’s midweek defeat to Bodo/Glimt, with Haaland and Phil Foden dropping to the bench.
Haaland has scored just one goal in his last eight matches in all competitions in what has proven a jam-paced start to the season for City.
Guardiola has publicly raised concerns about Haaland’s workload, admitting recently that the 25-year-old is ‘exhausted’.
The Spaniard withdrew Haaland in the closing stages of last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United and has now seemingly opted to bench his star striker to try and manage his minutes.
Asked about Haaland dropping to the bench pre-match, Guardiola told Sky Sports: ‘It’s a lot of games. I want a little beat to clean his mind, his body, and the selection is always because I believe for today it’s the best.’
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In his place, Omar Marmoush looks set to lead the line, with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo on both flanks.
Elsewhere, Marc Guehi makes his City debut alongside Abdukodir Khusanov in central defence, while Mattheus Nunes has recovered from illness to start at right-back.
Manchester City vs Wolves confirmed lineups
Man City starting XI: Donnarumma, Matheus Luiz, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Semenyo, Reijnders, Silva, Cherki, Marmoush.
Subs: Trafford, Ake, Haaland, Doku, Ait Nouri, Foden, Mukasa, Alleyne, Lewis.
Wolves starting XI: Jose Sa, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Krejci, Tchatchoua, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Mane, Hugo Bueno, Arias, Hwang.
Subs: Johnstone, Doherty, Wolfe, Larsen, Agbadou, Arokodare, Pedro Lima, Rodrigo Gomes, Lopez.
In midweek, Haaland admitted that City’s current fixture load is ‘ridiculous, telling TNT Sports: ‘I don’t want to speak about how I feel, I do my best whenever I am on the pitch and I am on the pitch quite often because we play ridiculous amount of games.
‘I try to do my best, that is my job and I try to get ready for the next game.’
Asked about City’s schedule on Friday, Guardiola said: ‘Why are we talking about this subject again? Nothing is going to change? The last game in Bodo we had 11 absences , Aston Villa and Tottenham had a lot.
‘In one period Arsenal had a lot. It’s a lot of games but how many times do we talk about that? Play plenty of games but four dayes between games but it doesn’t happen.
‘That’s not going to change, we look at relying on our players and players with the physicality to sustain games. It’s difficult.’
City currently trail league leaders Arsenal by seven points, but can cut that lead to four points with a win against Wolves, and apply pressure on the Gunners ahead of their clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
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