The City manager says the striker is available for Saturday’s match against Ipswich, but that he and other players who play for both club and country will need some time off.
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has said he may need to give Erling Haaland a rest, though the striker has been included in the squad for Saturday’s Premier League game against Ipswich. Haaland, 26, has scored 10 goals in nine games for City this season after an unusually busy summer. City also play AEK Athens at home in the Champions League on Tuesday. Maresca has not said whether Haaland will start.
Maresca’s comments
At his pre-match press conference, Maresca said: “At some point we probably need to give him rest, some days off.” He said the issue went beyond one player. “We are thinking about this not just with Erling because we have players, unfortunately or fortunately, they are playing all the games with us and all the games with the international teams. Elliot [Anderson], Enzo [Fernandez], Marc [Guehi], Erling, Ruben [Dias]. So at some point we probably need to give them some rest.”
City have no players ruled out through injury or suspension, according to reports, which gives Maresca room to rotate. He has not said which of the two games Haaland might miss. Sports Mole includes him in its predicted line-up against Ipswich, while other reports suggest Antoine Semenyo or Phil Foden could play in attack. These are predictions, not confirmed selections.
A heavy workload
Haaland helped Norway reach the World Cup quarter-finals in his first major tournament with his country. He then started all four of Norway’s games in the recent international break. According to the research notes, manager Stale Solbakken said he spoke to Haaland before the Nations League defeat by Portugal on 4 October. Haaland played all 90 minutes of the first three games but asked to be substituted after 67 minutes against Portugal, having appeared uncomfortable and been seen limping. Solbakken put the substitution down to fatigue, not a confirmed serious injury. Norway’s players’ union has also raised concerns about excessive schedules and called for stronger safeguards for recovery.
Records and form
Haaland scored twice in City’s 4-2 Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, taking him to 10 goals in nine games for the club. According to the club, he became City’s all-time leading scorer in European competition, and the fastest player to reach 60 Champions League goals, doing so in 60 appearances. He leads the Premier League scoring charts with six goals, one more than Chelsea’s Joao Pedro.
City are top of the table with a 100% record after six games. A win over Ipswich would put them six points clear of defending champions Arsenal, who play away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Haaland scored a hat-trick the last time Ipswich visited the Etihad, in August 2024, in a 4-1 win. City won the return fixture 6-0.
Other team news
Foden is available again after serving his suspension following a red card against Manchester United before the international break. Maresca said: “Since his red card and the international break, it has been quite long, but he is training well and is very positive.” He added: “We have so many games [coming up] so we will decide if he starts [on Saturday] or not. There is no doubt that he is going to give us something.”
Ayyoub Bouaddi could start after impressing as a substitute on Wednesday. “I decided to go less physicality and more technical with Rayan [Cherki], but against these teams you need to be quite strong in the middle,” Maresca said. “Bouaddi, Enzo and Elliot can for sure be a solution in the future. He is a fantastic player. When he is on the pitch, all the players around him improve.”
Guardiola and the financial verdict
Pep Guardiola attended Wednesday’s game against PSG and met Maresca afterwards, according to the research notes. They discussed City’s performance in both halves. Maresca said Guardiola was pleased to be back at the Etihad and remains closely connected to the club.
The match against Ipswich will be City’s first home league game since an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 of 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. City deny wrongdoing and have appealed. Maresca said the controversy had strengthened unity between players, staff and supporters, and repeated his trust in the club’s leadership. Fans have revived their tradition of inflatable bananas, which dates from the late 1980s and returned during City’s 3-0 win at Anfield. Maresca said he hoped to see them again on Saturday.
