Erling Haaland is battling to be fit for Manchester City’s big game against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The top two in the Premier League meet in a midday kick-off, and City are concerned about Haaland’s fitness after he experienced a recurrence of an ankle ailment while on international duty.

The attacker suffered the injury during Norway’s friendly win over the Faroe Islands and was later ruled out of his country’s qualification against Scotland, with the team doctor stating that Haaland was in “so much pain.”

The injury is not thought to be serious, and the League’s top scorer might be back in time to lead the line at the Etihad, having been spotted in training on Thursday evening.

City’s injury woes are far from over. Ederson and Nathan Ake also opted out of international duty but trained with Haaland on Thursday, while Mateo Kovacic is expected to miss many weeks due to a quad issue.

Rodri is expected to be available for Pep Guardiola after missing Spain’s win over Cyprus due to “discomfort.” The midfielder went on to play 86 minutes against Georgia and appears to be fully recovered.

Bernardo Silva will likely play deeper beside Rodri in midfield, with Julian Alvarez front of them as long as he is not called upon to replace Haaland up top.

Guardiola must make a decision on the left flank, as Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish are both battling for starts. Doku started against Chelsea before the international break, but City manager Pep Guardiola may prefer the control that Grealish provides this time.

Kevin De Bruyne is still out with a hamstring injury, and John Stones is in a race against time. Matheus Nunes and Sergio Gomez are both injured.