Manchester City striker Erling Haaland(Image: Getty Images). Erling Haaland failed his race to be fit for Manchester City’s Premier League fixture with Liverpool on Sunday, missing his second huge fixture in a row.. Haaland went down at the end of last weekend’s win over Newcastle after appearing to injure his knee, and was an unused substitute at Real Madrid in the week after reporting he was not able to play. Pep Guardiola said it was ‘crazy’ for him to play and told reporters on Friday that Haaland would be assessed ahead of the visit of Liverpool.. Unlike in Madrid, Haaland was not included in City’s squad against Liverpool, with Omar Marmoush starting his third game in succession. The official reason given for Haaland’s absence is that he is ‘not fully fit’ and attention now turns to his availability at Tottenham on Wednesday.. In another injury concern, Ruben Dias dropped to the bench against Liverpool. With John Stones and Manu Akanji both ruled out for at last two months, Dias’ omission was a concern as Abdukodir Khusanov replaced him in the middle alongside Nathan Ake.. Kevin De Bruyne returned to the starting line up with Guardiola confirming this week that he was not injured against Real Madrid and was left out for tactical reasons.. Article continues below. Guardiola said on Friday that Haaland was set for a fitness test on Saturday, adding: “It is better to have him on the pitch than not have him. We’re in the position we’re in right now. Everyone is responsible for good and bad things. With Erling we’re stronger.”
