Haaland fit for Aston Villa but Maresca sweating on three more City doubts

Erling Haaland is fit to face Aston Villa on Saturday, Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca confirmed, though three of his players — Nico O’Reilly, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic — remain doubts ahead of the Premier League lunchtime fixture.

All four players picked up injuries in City’s game against Ipswich. Haaland was left on the bench as a precaution in midweek, while O’Reilly, Nunes and Kovacic missed that match entirely. Maresca said the trio’s availability would hinge on a training session held on the day of his press conference.

“They could all be available or not. They are still doubts,” Maresca said. “Yesterday they were all improving and we will see this afternoon. Erling is the only one who is 100 per cent available and the other three we need to wait on today’s session.”

City also confirmed that winger Antoine Semenyo will be sidelined for approximately eight weeks after sustaining a knee injury against Ipswich. Phil Foden’s hat-trick in midweek will offer some consolation, with the England international likely to shoulder additional creative responsibility during that period.

City head into the Villa fixture having won all seven of their opening Premier League games. A victory at the weekend would extend that perfect start, with Arsenal — three points adrift — hosting Everton later on Saturday afternoon.

Maresca acknowledged the positive mood in the camp while stressing that the squad remains focused on adding to their tally. “The mood is very good, we are happy with our start but we are hungry for more wins,” he said. “Happy at the moment but we want more. We are going to try to prepare to win Saturday’s game.”