Pep Guardiola provides three-man injury update on Manchester City squad for Brighton clash

Erling Haaland is ruled out for Manchester City’s trip to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday night, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed ahead of the game.

Manchester City come into the meeting with the Seagulls fresh off the back of success in the FA Cup, as Pep Guardiola and his players battled through a short turnaround and immense fatigue to defeat Chelsea under the Wembley arch.

That win now means that Manchester City have a clear opportunity to retain their domestic double that built up their Treble last season, with city rivals Manchester United being their opponents in the showpiece final for the second successive season.

In the meantime however, Pep Guardiola and his players remain fixated on the task at hand in the English top-flight, with Arsenal and Liverpool offering an immense challenge to their title-winning credentials.

However, following defeats for both sides against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace respectively two weeks ago, Manchester City have their Premier League title fate firmly in their hands for the remainder of the season, but certainly cannot afford many, if any, slip-ups along the way.

Speaking with the media ahead of the trip to the south coast this week, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland will play no part in the match, having also missed the previous game in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

While the Norwegian striker is ruled out through injury, Guardiola reaffirmed, “It’s not a big issue, but he’s not allowed for this game.”

Elsewhere, and both John Stones and Phil Foden will be available for Manchester City at the Amex Stadium and are “ready” to feature for Pep Guardiola, having both sustained respective concerns in recent days.

Stones was withdrawn at half-time of the 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium, before returning to Manchester City training with the rest of the squad on Tuesday morning, whilst Phil Foden played no part in open training on the same day, sparking concerns.

Manchester City will have their eyes firmly fixed on two victories this week as they play catch-up in terms of games played in the Premier League, with their duties in the UEFA Champions League and Emirates FA Cup leaving them with two games in hand on Arsenal.

After facing off against Roberto De Zerbi’s ever-impressive Brighton side, Manchester City will take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, knowing that the Premier League title will be theirs if they win all of their remaining contests.