Pep Guardiola confirms Erling Haaland ‘ready’ to start against Brentford

Manchester City are preparing to welcome Erling Haaland back to their starting lineup ahead of Monday’s Premier League clash against Brentford.

The Norweigan striker has missed City’s last 12 games after sustaining an injury during his side’s 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa at the start of December.

And although the treble-winners have managed well without the former Borussia Dortmund star, including Julian Alvarez stepping up and providing the goals, there is no doubt Haaland’s absence has put the defending champions at a disadvantage.

However, returning to team training recently, Haaland is on his way back, and according to Pep Guardiola, is in line to start against Thomas Frank’s Bees when the two sides meet at the Community Stadium on Monday.

When asked if the 23-year-old could start, Guardiola, as quoted by BBC Sport, said: “He’s ready. Everybody is ready because they are not injured.”

Despite missing such a large portion of the season, Haaland remains the Premier League’s joint-top goalscorer (14) alongside Liverpool’s Mo Salah.

Monday’s night game, which is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. (UK time), will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.