Erling Haaland and Christian Eriksen fitness boosts for Manchester clubs

LONDON – Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland could feature in Saturday’s Premier League game at Southampton after recovering from a groin injury, while local rivals Manchester United will welcome back a key player of their own in Christian Eriksen for the visit of Everton.

Haaland missed out on Norway’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Spain and Georgia in March, as well as City’s 4-1 win over Liverpool last Saturday.

City manager Pep Guardiola said the striker, who has scored 42 goals in 36 matches in all competitions, had recovered from the injury, telling reporters: “He trained the last two days, really good. He will be ready.”

Haaland’s return will provide a boost to City as they approach the home stretch of the campaign, with three trophies still up for grabs.

City, who are second in the league, eight points behind leaders Arsenal but with a game in hand, have also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Their coming run of fixtures will likely define their season, but Guardiola said his players are well accustomed to the pressure.

“The last part of the season, international break, it depends on us how many games we’re going to play – Premier League for sure, Champions League, FA Cup,” Guardiola said.

“If we win, we’re still in. If we don’t, we’re out... If we drop points, Arsenal will be champions in advance. If we win, win, win, we might be champions at the end of the season. We are used to it. It’s not a problem.”

On Saturday, City will face bottom club Southampton for a third time this season, with Ruben Selles set to become the third different manager of the south coast club to pit his wits against Guardiola in those three games.

When asked if the managerial changes had made it hard to predict how Southampton would play, Guardiola said: “It is modern times. It was difficult to sack managers before. Now it is around the corner.”

“If you don’t get results, you are in danger. It would be difficult to analyse Southampton if their manager was appointed yesterday, but they’ve played a few games,” the Spaniard added.

“The pattern is clear, but every team are playing for something. There is an important fight for the Premier League and to be in the Premier League. Every game has its own characteristic. We have to be ready.”

Across Manchester, the Red Devils are ready to welcome Eriksen back on Saturday.

Sean Dyche’s Toffees are unbeaten in their last four matches, which include come-from-behind draws against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Eriksen has not played since January, when he suffered an ankle ailment after a reckless challenge by Andy Carroll during an FA Cup win over second-tier side Reading.

Some of United’s best performances have come with Casemiro and Eriksen in the engine room, and with the Brazilian still unavailable through suspension, the return of his Danish midfield partner is a boost for the fourth-placed side.

Manager Erik ten Hag admitted that he thought he had lost midfield schemer Eriksen for the rest of the season.

He said on Friday: “The good news is Christian Eriksen is back in training and he will be back in the squad tomorrow.

“I think it was not for nothing that I was so angry about that bad tackle.

“We first feared we had lost him for the whole season, but he worked really well and the medical department did very well.

“He’s returning to the squad and is available for the final stages of the season, so we are very pleased with that. It was a really bad tackle and a really bad injury. It’s settled and we are very happy with that.”

However, the Dutchman said left-back Luke Shaw will miss Saturday’s game after sustaining an injury in the 1-0 midweek win over Brentford. REUTERS