Erling Haaland will be '100 per cent' available for Manchester City when they face Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend, manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed. The Norway international was not risked in City's 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens on Tuesday night, where Phil Foden scored a hat-trick.
Haaland passed fit after knock
Haaland picked up a knock after scoring twice in the 3-2 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday and remained on the bench as an unused substitute midweek. Maresca explained after the AEK Athens victory that he saw little need to bring him on that evening.
City are still assessing Nico O'Reilly, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, but Haaland has been passed fit by his manager. 'They could all be available or not. There are still doubts,' Maresca said. 'Erling is the only one who is 100 per cent available and for the other three we need to wait.'
Foden's resurgence
Foden, meanwhile, is enjoying a resurgence, having scored four goals in his last two games since serving a domestic suspension. The 26-year-old's performances, including his hat-trick midweek, have raised the prospect of a return to the England fold after being dropped for the World Cup.
Maresca has taken a keen interest in Foden's wellbeing since taking over at the Etihad Stadium in the summer. The Italian said: 'Since we started, I sat down with Phil two or three times – especially at the beginning – just to show him, I don't know if love is the right word to use, but to show him how important he is.'
'I know Phil from years ago, so I know how good he is. For different reasons, the last few years he was not good enough but I think when you have players like Phil available you are a better team because it's a matter of improving players. For me, it's my duty to try to help him to be one of the best players in England again.'
Premier League context
City head into the weekend three points clear at the top of the Premier League ahead of Arsenal. They return to league action against Aston Villa tomorrow.
