Manchester City takes on Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night, and Pep Guardiola will be hoping for his side to pick up a morale-boosting win at home.
The Premier League giants were beaten by Liverpool earlier on in the season at Anfield and they will be hoping to avenge that defeat here.
The League Cup is probably Liverpool’s most realistic chance of winning a trophy this season and Manchester City will look to dump them out of the competition with a win tonight.
However, Guardiola has now made a surprising claim regarding star striker Erling Haaland.
Norway failed to qualify for the World Cup and Haaland has had some well-deserved rest over the last few weeks.
The 22-year-old is expected to be fresh and ready for the game against Liverpool on Thursday.
However, Guardiola believes that the lack of game time over the last few weeks could mean that the star striker could be out of rhythm, and might not be at his best against Liverpool.
“I had a feeling that the players in the World Cup are in a better condition than the players who are here, Sergio, Cole, Riyad, Erling, they miss a little bit, the players who didn’t go lack the rhythm,” said the City boss (h/t Mirror). “Those coming back have competed and trained every day, they keep the rhythm and we had holidays.
“Step by step people come back, today come back six players. First time, we are happy they are back, in general play really well. They play a unique experience. Let them try to come back as soon as possible. Work for the team and maybe four years they live another experience.”
The Reds will certainly be delighted if that is the case. Haaland is one of the best strikers in the world and he has been outstanding in the Premier League since the start of the season.
However, he has not been able to perform at a high level against Liverpool so far. The Reds managed to beat Manchester City twice this season and Haaland has struggled in both outings.
The Norwegian will be determined to make his mark at the Etihad stadium when the two sides meet later tonight.
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