Doubts about Haaland Manchester City's participation in the "difficult confrontation"

The three points will be Manchester City's demand from its host, Leicester, Saturday, in the fourteenth stage of the English Football League, to rise, even temporarily, to the top, hoping that Arsenal stumbled against Nottingham Forest after its European fall.


However, "Citizens" doubts about the participation of the team's deadly weapon, the Norwegian striker Erling Halland, after he was eliminated between the two halves against his former team, Borussia Dortmund, (0-0) on Tuesday, in the fifth penultimate round of the Champions League.


Halland's participation has become uncertain, according to British media, which indicated that he had injured his ankle and was suffering from a high temperature.


City, the second with 26 points, two points behind leaders Arsenal, has enough attacking power to face Leicester, but fans will be concerned about Haaland's absence.


His Spanish coach, Pep Guardiola, commented on the fitness of his new player, saying: "We will see .. Haaland suffered a little bit of fever before the match. Erling suffered a small blow to his foot and for this reason he did not play in the second half, but he returned to running normally."


Haaland scored 17 goals in 11 league matches after joining from Dortmund last summer.

Newcastle scare the adults?

Struggling for the top spot, Newcastle have begun to pose a traditional top-six threat in the Premier League, with "Magby's" reaching fourth, ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.


The club snatched 13 consecutive points out of a possible 15.

But this latest performance by Newcastle is not the only concern of the entrenched forces in English football.


Just one year after the Saudi Investment Fund took over the English club and spent more than 220 million pounds ($254 million) on new players, Newcastle have gone from struggling to stay in the top flight into a club looking to secure a European seat next season.


With only five more stages in the Premier League before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar and before the transfer window reopens, the club will have another chance to strengthen its ranks.


"We really believe in ourselves and believe we can achieve great things with this group," coach Eddie Howe said last week after the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.


And if Newcastle won at home against Aston Villa on Saturday, it would raise its score to 24 points in third place, four points behind Arsenal, although it played two games more.


Despite the comments of Liverpool coach, German Jurgen Klopp, that "Magpiez" does not have a "ceiling" due to his Saudi-backed wealth, Newcastle actually poses a threat to the aspirants to the top four.

Pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool

Thus, the pressure is now on Chelsea coach Graham Potter to return the "Blues" to the winning streak in the league when they visit Brighton on Saturday.


Potter has not lost yet in nine matches since he replaced the sacked German Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.


But successive draws against Brentford and Manchester United made Chelsea slip to fifth place, and showed a scoring imbalance in the team.


On the other hand, promising performances against Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea have raised optimism about a possible return to Manchester United under the leadership of new coach Eric Ten Hag.


But the Dutchman also needs to turn that praise into points when he faces West Ham United at Old Trafford, after the Red Devils have won only two of their last five league games.


But he may also count on his Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned in the European League on Thursday and scored a goal against Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova (3-0).


On the other hand, both Liverpool and Leeds United need to win when they meet on Saturday.


A run of eight matches without a win has sent Leeds into the relegation zone with American Jesse Marsh, who is now a candidate to be the second coach to be sacked in the league this season after Steven Gerrard.


"I've never lost so much in my career. I'm tired of it," the former German Leipzig and Austrian Salzburg coach said Thursday.


"I'm not stupid, I fully understand that if we don't win matches, I will put them (management) in a very difficult position to continue supporting me."


On the other hand, Liverpool seemed to be regaining its rhythm after a slow start to the season before losing to bottom of the standings, Nottingham Forest, last weekend, who will be Arsenal's rivals this week.


The Reds are away from the top of the standings with a total of 12 points, but most of their problems were away from home, as they have not been defeated in front of their fans at Anfield in the league since 2017.

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