Manchester City’s talismanic striker Erling Haaland is set to make his long-awaited return to action this weekend, according to manager Pep Guardiola. The Norwegian goal machine has been sidelined since March after sustaining an ankle injury during City’s FA Cup quarter-final victory over Bournemouth, but his return comes at a crucial juncture as the club enters the final stretch of what has been, by their lofty standards, a disappointing campaign.
“He is ready, he is fit,” Guardiola confirmed during his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Southampton. When pressed on whether the 24-year-old would start the match at St. Mary’s Stadium, the Catalan tactician remained characteristically coy: “[If he will] start, we will see tomorrow.”
Haaland was named among the substitutes for City’s narrow 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend but remained unused as Guardiola opted for caution with his prized asset. That win boosted City’s chances of securing Champions League football next season, with the club currently sitting third in the Premier League table, three points ahead of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest.
The 2024-25 season has introduced a significant change to the European football landscape, with the top five Premier League finishers now guaranteed a place in the Champions League, a result of England’s improved UEFA coefficient ranking and the competition’s expanded format. For a club of Manchester City’s stature, failing to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition would represent nothing short of a catastrophe.
A Season of Struggle
The timing of Haaland’s return could hardly be more opportune. After winning an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles—part of a domestic dominance that saw City clinch six of the last seven available league crowns—Guardiola’s men have endured a campaign characterized by inconsistency and frustration.
Between October and December, City experienced their worst run of form under Guardiola’s stewardship, managing just one victory in thirteen matches across all competitions. This disastrous sequence included nine defeats, effectively ending their league title defense before the halfway point of the season.
Their Champions League campaign proved equally disappointing, with City eliminated at the play-off phase—a shocking outcome for a team that had reached at least the semi-finals in each of the previous four seasons, including their triumphant 2022-23 campaign.
Injuries have undoubtedly played a significant role in City’s struggles. Defensive lynchpin Ruben Dias missed three months with a hamstring injury, while creative midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva both spent extended periods on the sidelines. However, it was perhaps Haaland’s prolonged absence that proved most damaging to City’s ambitions.
Despite missing almost two months of action, the Norwegian remains City’s top scorer this season with 21 goals in 28 Premier League appearances—the only player in Guardiola’s squad to reach double figures in the competition. Across all competitions, Haaland has netted 30 times in 40 appearances, while also contributing four assists.
These impressive statistics, however, represent a relative downturn compared to his extraordinary output in previous campaigns. Since arriving in England from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, Haaland has rewritten the Premier League’s goal-scoring record books, claiming the Golden Boot award in each of his first two seasons.
His debut campaign saw him shatter the Premier League’s single-season scoring record with 36 goals in 35 appearances, while he followed that up with 29 goals in 30 matches during the 2023-24 season. With just three league games remaining this term, he sits seven goals behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for this season’s Golden Boot—a gap that seems insurmountable even for a marksman of Haaland’s caliber.
The Hunger Games
In a candid interview with ESPN earlier this week, Haaland offered a brutally honest assessment of City’s disappointing campaign, attributing their underwhelming performances to a collective loss of “hunger” within the squad.
“You can find excuses, injuries, many injuries at bad times, but in the end we haven’t been performing well enough,” Haaland admitted. “We haven’t had fully the hunger inside us. I haven’t been good enough. I haven’t helped the team enough. In the end, we haven’t been good enough.”
When asked about these comments, Guardiola neither contradicted nor endorsed his striker’s analysis, instead suggesting: “If it’s a feeling for Erling, the players should talk to each other and ask themselves why.”
The concept of ‘hunger’—that insatiable desire to succeed despite having already achieved greatness—has long fascinated sports psychologists and pundits alike. Manchester City’s struggles this season appear to validate the theory that sustained success can indeed blunt competitive edge, a phenomenon often referred to as the ‘success trap.’
Dr. Eleanor Chambers, a sports psychologist who has worked with several Premier League clubs, explains: “After achieving repeated success, it’s psychologically challenging for athletes to maintain the same level of motivation and intensity. There’s a natural tendency to ease off—not necessarily consciously—when you’ve already proven yourself multiple times.”
This psychological principle has been evidenced throughout sporting history. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United dominated English football for over two decades precisely because their manager excelled at regenerating hunger within his squad, often by introducing hungry young talents or making bold decisions to move on established stars before complacency set in.
Guardiola himself acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining elite performance levels season after season, calling this “the most difficult” campaign in his illustrious managerial career.
“When you don’t win, it’s more demanding in terms of emotionally and preparing [the team] and the mood,” the 54-year-old explained. “It has been more and more difficult than the previous seasons that we played for winning the titles.”
The Numbers Game
Haaland’s return to fitness comes too late to salvage City’s league title hopes, but his presence could prove crucial in securing that all-important top-five finish and potential FA Cup glory. The statistical impact of his absence has been stark.
In the 28 Premier League matches featuring Haaland this season, City have averaged 2.1 goals per game; in the seven matches without him, that figure drops to 1.4. More tellingly, City’s win percentage with Haaland (64%) significantly exceeds their success rate without him (43%).
These numbers merely confirm what the eye test suggests: when Haaland plays, City are a more formidable attacking force. At 6’4″ with exceptional pace, power, and predatory instincts, he offers a dimension that no other player in the squad can replicate.
Julian Alvarez, the Argentina international who has often deputized in Haaland’s absence, is a technically gifted forward with a remarkable work ethic, but he lacks the Norwegian’s physical presence and single-minded goal-scoring focus. The statistical disparity between the two underscores this difference: while Haaland averages a goal every 114 minutes in the Premier League this season, Alvarez’s ratio stands at one goal every 276 minutes.
Beyond his raw goal-scoring prowess, Haaland’s mere presence on the pitch alters the dynamics of opposition defenses. The attention he commands creates space for teammates, as opponents often dedicate multiple defenders to containing him. His explosive acceleration into channels stretches defensive lines, opening pockets of space for City’s creative midfielders to exploit.
Former England striker and BBC pundit Alan Shearer has frequently highlighted this aspect of Haaland’s game: “He creates chaos in defensive structures just by being there. Defenders are so preoccupied with him that they lose track of runners from midfield. It’s not just about the goals he scores, but the space he creates for others.”
The Final Frontier
With the Premier League title beyond their reach, City’s focus now shifts to securing Champions League qualification and adding another FA Cup to their trophy cabinet. After Saturday’s trip to Southampton, Guardiola’s side will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 17, before completing their league campaign with fixtures against Bournemouth and Fulham.
For Haaland, the FA Cup represents a significant opportunity. Despite his phenomenal goal-scoring record in England, he has yet to score in an English domestic cup final. Adding such a milestone to his resume—potentially with a match-winning contribution at Wembley—would provide some consolation in an otherwise frustrating season.
Crystal Palace, managed by former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, have enjoyed a solid campaign themselves, currently sitting comfortably in mid-table. The Eagles have developed a reputation as a well-organized outfit capable of troubling the Premier League’s elite, particularly through the pace and trickery of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise.
Guardiola, however, boasts an exceptional record in cup competitions. Throughout his managerial career, he has reached 19 major finals, winning 16 of them. At Manchester City alone, he has secured three FA Cup triumphs, most recently in 2023 when they defeated local rivals Manchester United 2-1 at Wembley.
That victory formed part of City’s historic treble—along with the Premier League and Champions League—cementing Guardiola’s legacy as one of football’s greatest tacticians. The prospect of ending this challenging season with silverware would provide a much-needed boost heading into the summer.
The Haaland Factor
The importance of Haaland to Manchester City’s project extends far beyond his immediate impact on the pitch. When City activated his €60 million (£51.2 million) release clause from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, they weren’t merely signing a striker; they were acquiring a generational talent who could serve as the centerpiece of their team for a decade.
In the modern football landscape, where truly elite strikers are increasingly rare commodities, Haaland represents footballing gold dust. Alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé, he is widely regarded as one of the two most valuable attacking players in world football.
His commercial value is equally significant. Haaland’s global appeal—driven by his distinctive appearance, charismatic personality, and extraordinary goal-scoring feats—has helped expand City’s fanbase, particularly in Scandinavia and Central Europe. Jersey sales bearing his name consistently outpace those of his teammates, while his social media following (currently exceeding 40 million across platforms) provides Manchester City with invaluable global reach.
This commercial dimension adds another layer of importance to Haaland’s fitness. As football clubs increasingly function as global entertainment brands, the presence of marketable superstars becomes crucial to their commercial strategies. For City’s commercial partners, a fit and firing Haaland translates to greater visibility and engagement.
Looking Ahead
As the 2024-25 season enters its final stages, attention is already turning to how Manchester City might rebuild and recalibrate this summer. Guardiola, who signed a two-year contract extension last November, has consistently demonstrated an ability to reinvent his teams when necessary.
“It’s a business, we have to win games,” Guardiola acknowledged. “Otherwise, you cannot be here next time. We represent the people, represent the club—you have to do your job as best as possible.”
The Spaniard’s candid assessment of this season’s shortcomings suggests he is already formulating plans for renewal: “Today, this season, we didn’t do that. We were in the highest standards and we dropped here. Even with that, I would say it could be worse. We were still there. I was there, the players were there. Not our best, but we didn’t give up.”
For Haaland, this summer represents an opportunity to reset and refocus. A full pre-season—something he has yet to experience at City due to international commitments and fitness issues—could prove invaluable in his continued development and integration within Guardiola’s evolving tactical framework.
There remains a sense among some tactical analysts that Guardiola has not yet fully optimized his system to maximize Haaland’s extraordinary capabilities. The coach who revolutionized football with his possession-based approach at Barcelona—often employing a ‘false nine’ rather than a traditional striker—now finds himself with the quintessential number nine. This tactical evolution remains an ongoing process.
Former City defender Micah Richards believes we have yet to see the best of Haaland under Guardiola: “There’s still so much untapped potential in that relationship. Pep is still finding the perfect balance between City’s traditional possession game and utilizing Erling’s unique qualities. When they fully click, it’s going to be frightening for everyone else.”
The Immediate Challenge
Before thoughts turn to next season, City face the immediate challenge of securing their Champions League place. Saturday’s trip to Southampton represents a potentially tricky fixture against a side battling relegation. The Saints, currently 18th in the table, have shown improved form in recent weeks under manager Russell Martin, picking up vital points against fellow strugglers Everton and Brentford.
St. Mary’s Stadium has occasionally proven a difficult hunting ground for Manchester City—they suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat there during the 2022-23 season in a League Cup quarter-final. However, their overall record against Southampton is formidable, having won 13 of their last 15 Premier League meetings.
The potential return of Haaland to the starting lineup would significantly boost City’s chances of continuing that dominant record. Guardiola’s pre-match comments suggest he is weighing the benefits of starting his star striker against the risks of aggravating his injury with the FA Cup final looming.
Sports medicine expert Dr. Marcus Fernandez explains the delicate balancing act: “With ankle injuries, there’s always a risk of recurrence if the player returns too quickly. However, there’s also the consideration that match fitness can only be truly regained through competitive playing time. It’s a judgment call that depends on numerous factors, including the player’s own feedback and detailed medical assessments.”
Whatever decision Guardiola makes regarding Haaland’s involvement, his mere availability represents a significant boost to a City squad entering a crucial phase of their season. After a campaign characterized by inconsistency and frustration, the return of their talismanic striker offers hope that they can finish strongly and lay the groundwork for a more successful 2025-26 season.
The Final Word
For Erling Haaland, the coming weeks represent an opportunity to remind the football world of his extraordinary capabilities after a period of enforced absence. Still just 24 years old, his career trajectory suggests the best may still be to come—a frightening proposition for Premier League defenders.
“When I’m at my best, I can be unstoppable,” Haaland told Sky Sports in an interview earlier this season. “But that requires everything to be perfect—my preparation, my focus, my positioning, the service from my teammates. When all those elements align, that’s when the magic happens.”
As Manchester City prepare to enter the final stretch of a challenging season, they will hope their Norwegian goal machine can rediscover that magic and help salvage something meaningful from a campaign that has fallen short of expectations.
With Champions League qualification still in the balance and FA Cup glory within reach, Haaland’s return could yet transform City’s season from one of disappointment to one of relative success. In a sport often defined by fine margins, having one of the world’s most lethal goalscorers back in the fold could make all the difference.
As Saturday’s trip to Southampton approaches, all eyes will be on Guardiola’s team sheet. The potential inclusion of Erling Haaland’s name would represent more than just a personnel change—it would signal the return of a footballer capable of changing the course of matches with a single touch. For Manchester City fans, that prospect alone is enough to reignite optimism for the challenges ahead.
