Erling Haaland is ‘touch and go’ to face Liverpool on Saturday which is also how you’d put Manchester City’s chances in the title race.
‘Touch and goal’ might best describe the striker’s recent form following two hattricks in four days despite, as usual, not seeing much of the ball.
But a groin strain caused him to miss Norway’s games in the international break and City will be desperate for their talisman to play.
Eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, they need Haaland to be fit and firing if they are to close the gap and retain their title.
The giant Norwegian has bagged 42% of the club’s goals (28/67) so far – a gluttonous tally for a side that scored more than 100 without him last season.
For years now, ever since Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp locked horns at the top of the table, this fixture has been a virtual title decider.
You could almost say it still is.
Despite Liverpool languishing in sixth place, 19 points behind City, a win at The Etihad would make Arsenal almost uncatchable.
The Gunners will know the result when they kick off at home to Leeds half an hour later and would relish the thought of opening an 11-point lead in April!
They still have to go to The Etihad, of course, but that sort of gap would take some closing.
So there’s a lot riding on this fixture for City – and also for Liverpool.
When they see those light blue shirts, it will be hard for the Reds not to think of it as anything other than the match.
There have been some titanic collisions in all competitions and though City have ended up with four titles to one for the Reds since 2018, a couple were by a proverbial whisker.
And in that period, Liverpool have had a decisive edge in Europe with a Champions League triumph from three finals against one losing final for City.
Earlier this season, Liverpool beat City twice, if you count the Community Shield, and lost to them in the Carabao Cup.
In the league, Mo Salah scored one of his specials at a raucous Anfield before the rot – and injuries – really set in.
Back in August, Liverpool not only won but looked to have bought the better of the two big No.9s on display.
It’s hard to believe now, but it was Haaland who missed a sitter and looked clumsy while Darwin Nunez scored and impressed.
Roles have reversed, of course, but Nunez is improving after a few difficult months while Haaland has already done enough to be called a ‘once in a generation’ phenom.
Before the break, Haaland looked as if he could eat the Liverpool defence alive.
He was on fire and Liverpool’s centrebacks were on Valium – or so it appeared from some of the displays by Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, especially.
The return to fitness of Ibrahima Konate has restored some order and he and Virgil van Dijk are unquestionably Klopp’s preferred pairing.
But even they could be in for an exacting afternoon if Haaland plays.
If the break came at the wrong time for City, who were on a 10-game unbeaten streak, it probably wasn’t a bad time for Liverpool.
They have also been improving although the losses to Real Madrid and Bournemouth may suggest otherwise.
But they haven’t played anybody since the lame effort against the Spaniards on March 15 and it will be three weeks without a league match.
Plenty of time, then, for Klopp to work on what’s going wrong at the back. As his assistant Pep Lijnders says, “Training is like a new signing for us.”
Indeed, it’s almost a pre-season by recent standards so Kopites will be hoping that Klopp (and Lijnders) will be able to work out why Liverpool’s once impregnable fortress has turned into a bouncy castle.
One reason, of course, is injuries: Liverpool have had a lot more of them than any other Premier League club. It is not a tired, old excuse: it’s a fact.
Just before the break, on a graph detailing games lost by players to injuries so far this season, Liverpool were top with an unassailable lead.
Where the average was in the nineties, Liverpool led with no less than 162 – 38 more than the next challenger, Chelsea, on 124.
City were second lowest on 49 behind Brighton on 46.
Nor is it the first time the Reds have ‘won’ this ‘title’. Remember the Covid season when Van Dijk was out and a couple of journeymen centrebacks were signed in the January window.
It is a concern to Liverpool fans as it must be to the club and you can be sure that training methods and recovery programmes are being examined.
Klopp likes heavy metal football but this is not just assaulting the eardrums, it’s pulling the hamstrings and twisting the knees.
Typically, Klopp won’t have a full complement available on Saturday but Luis Diaz may be in the squad as will Nunez. Cody Gakpo is also fit.
A win here would really ignite a late season charge for a Champions League place or the Reds will be condemned to the Thursday/Sunday shift of the Europa League.
City will definitely miss Phil Foden, who had appendicitis, but you suspect Haaland may play some part.
To keep alive the title race – and their own top four hopes – they must ensure it’s not an hour’s run that ends up with him carrying off the match ball.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.